Punjab-Haryana High Court
Smt. Nirmal Devi And Ors. vs State Of Haryana And Ors. on 30 August, 1993
Equivalent citations: 1995ACJ544, (1993)105PLR319
JUDGMENT Amarjeet Chaudhary, J.
1. This is claimants' appeal against the award of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Karnal dated 2.8.1984, which on a claim petition under Section 110-A of the Motor Vehicles Act, had awarded a sum of Rs. 86,000/- to the claimants with 5% interest PA from the date of order i.e. 2.8.1984.
2. The challenge to the award is that though the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal had held the claimants to be entitled to Rs. 96,000/- as compensation, but out of this amount, a sum of Rs. 10,000/- was deducted on the ground that Smt. Nirmala Devi, widow of the deceased had been employed as L.D.C. by the H.S.E.B.. According to the Counsel for the appellants, this amount cannot be deducted. The counsel further contends that dependency of the appellants has not been correctly calculated and proper rate of interest has not been awarded.
3. I have perused the case file.
4. The deceased was earning Rs. 750/- per month at the time of his death, out of which 1/3rd amount he must have been spending on self maintenance and the rest 2/3rd i.e. Rs. 500/- on his family. I am of the considered view that there is no error on the part of the Tribunal in calculating the dependency of the claimants and in applying a multiplier of 16.
5. On the consideration of the matter, I am of the view that the Tribunal should not have deducted Rs. 10,000/- from the compensation on account of the fact that Nirmala Devi widow of deceased has been given employment in the department. The compensation was awarded under the Motor Vehicles Act for the loss of income on account of the sudden demise of bread winner. The mere fact that Smt. Nirmla Devi w/o the deceased had been given employment by the department is not a good ground for deducting Rs. 10,000/- from the compensation awarded to the claimant.
6. For the foregoing reasons, the appeal is allowed and the award of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal is modified to the extent that the claimants shall be entitled to Rs. 96000/- as compensation on account of the death of Jai Narain. The claimants shall also be entitled to 12% interest from the date of the claim petition.