Dr D Y CHANDRACHUD, J
1 The present appeal has arisen from a judgment of the High Court of
Judicature for Rajasthan at its Jaipur bench confirming the award of the Motor
Accident Claims Tribunal (M.A.C.T.).
2 An accident took place on 15 November 2008 when at about 9 p.m. Sonu
Kumar Goyal was proceeding on a motor cycle from Mandi Neem Ka Thana to
his home. A truck bearing Registration No.RJ-32-GA-0398 dashed against the
motor cycle as a result of which Sonu Kumar sustained grievous injuries and
died on the spot. The third respondent is the registered owner of the motor
Digitally signed by SATISH KUMARvehicle YADAV which was insured with the first respondent. The appellants filed a claim 17:03:28 TLT
for compensation before the Tribunal. By its order dated 16 July 2013 the
Tribunal held that the accident was caused due to the negligence of the driver
of the truck. The insurer was held jointly and severally liable together with the
owner and driver.
3 While assessing the claim of compensation, the Tribunal noted that the
deceased was a bachelor, aged 20 years. On the income of the deceased, the
Tribunal did not accept the certificates for the months of August, September
and October 2008 produced by the first appellant who is the father of the
deceased in support of the case that the deceased had a monthly earning of
Rs 15,000/-. The Tribunal indicated that the certificates have not been duly
proved. The deceased was pursuing the professional Chartered Accountancy
course. The Tribunal adopted an income of Rs.6,000/- per month and since the
deceased was a bachelor, it deducted a sum of Rs 3,000/- per month towards
personal expenses. A multiplier of 11 was applied on the basis of the age of the
parents of the deceased. Accordingly, the loss of dependency was computed
at Rs 3,96,000/- and after addition of conventional heads, a total compensation
of Rs.4,31,000/- was awarded.
4 The appellants as well as the insurer filed the appeals before the High
Court. By its judgment dated 30 May 2016 the High Court has declined to
interfere with the award of the Tribunal.
5 Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellants has assailed the
award of compensation by urging that :
(i) Both the Tribunal and the High Court erred in declining to accept the
income certificates produced to indicate that the deceased had a monthly
income of Rs 15,000/-;
(ii) No addition on account of future prospects was made;
(iii) The multiplier to be adopted should have been based on the age of the
deceased and not on the age of the parents; and
(iv) interest should have been awarded @ 9% p.a. instead of 6% p.a.
On the other hand, the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the insurer has
supported the view which has been taken by the Tribunal and by the High Court
and submitted that no case has been made out for interference by this court
with the concurrent findings of both the courts below.
6 The Tribunal has given cogent reasons for declining to accept the income
certificates which were relied upon by the father of the deceased. No witnesses
were examined on behalf of the companies which were alleged to have issued
the certificates to prove the certificates. Evidently there was a failure to
establish that the deceased, who was a student pursuing his C.A. was in receipt
of a monthly income of Rs 15,000/-. Hence, we are of the view that the
assessment of income by the Tribunal cannot be faulted.
7 However, we find merit in the submission which has been urged on behalf
of the appellants that the Tribunal failed to apply the correct multiplier and erred
in not granting the benefit of future prospects in computing the income of the
deceased and the loss of dependency. Having due regard to the judgment
delivered by the Constitution Bench of this Court in National Insurance
Company Limited v Pranay Sethi1 and in Sarla Verma v Delhi Transport
Corporation2 the correct multiplier should be 17 having regard to the age of
the deceased. An addition of 40 per cent towards future prospects would also
be warranted in terms of the judgment of the Constitution Bench. On this basis
and since the deceased was a bachelor, the loss of dependency would work
out to Rs 8,56,800/-. The appellants would be entitled to an amount of Rs
15,000/- towards loss of estate and Rs 15,000/- towards funeral expenses. The
award of compensation accordingly stands quantified at Rs 8,86,800/-.
The appellants are allowed interest @7.5% p.a. from the date of the filing of the
petition before the M.A.C.T. till realization.
8 The appeal is accordingly allowed. There shall be no order as to
costs.
New Delhi; January 19, 2018