Supreme Court of India
New India Assurance Co.Ltd vs Gopali & Ors on 5 July, 2012
Equivalent citations: AIR 2012 SUPREME COURT 3381, 2012 (12) SCC 198, 2012 AIR SCW 4330, 2012 AAC 2549 (SC), (2012) 117 ALLINDCAS 255 (SC), 2012 (117) ALLINDCAS 255, AIR 2013 SC (CIVIL) 2320, (2012) 4 PUN LR 593, 2012 (6) SCALE 534, (2012) 3 RECCIVR 818, (2012) 4 ACC 670, (2012) 4 MAD LW 629, (2012) 53 OCR 30, (2012) 4 TAC 353, (2012) 6 SCALE 534, (2012) 4 ACJ 2131, (2012) 94 ALL LR 210, (2012) 5 ALL WC 4807
Bench: Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya, G.S. Singhvi
REPORTABLE
IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
CIVIL APPEAL NO. 5179 OF 2012
(Arising out of SLP(C)No. 11345 of 2007)
NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO.LTD. ...Appellant
VERSUS
GOPALI & ORS. ...Respondents
O R D E R
Leave granted.
India is acclaimed for achieving a flourishing constitutional
order, an inventive and activist judiciary, aided by a proficient bar
and supported by the State. However, the Courts and Tribunals, which
the citizens are expected to approach for redressal of their grievance
and protection of their fundamental, constitutional and legal rights,
are beset with the problems of delays and costs. In a country where 36
per cent of the population live below the poverty line, these
deficiencies in the justice delivery system prevent a large segment of
the population from availing legal remedies. The
disadvantaged and poor are deprived of access to justice because of
the costs of litigation, both in terms of actual expenses and lost
opportunities, and the laudable goal of securing justice - social,
economic and political enshrined in the Preamble to the Constitution
of India remains an illusion for them. The infrastructure of Courts
and the processes which govern them are simply inaccessible to the
poor. The State, which has been mandated by Article 39A of the
Constitution to ensure that the operation of the legal system promotes
justice by providing free legal aid and that opportunities for
securing justice are not denied to any citizen by reason of economic
or other disabilities, has not been able to create an effective
mechanism for making justice accessible to the poor, downtrodden and
disadvantaged. In last two and a half decades the institution of the
legal services authorities has rendered yeoman's service in the field
of providing legal aid to the poor but a lot is required to be done
for ensuring justice to economically deprived section of the society
and those who suffer from other disabilities like illiteracy and
ignorance.
We have prefaced the disposal of this petition, filed against
order dated 22.3.2007 passed by the Division Bench of the Rajasthan
High Court whereby the special appeal filed by the appellant against
the judgment of the learned Single Judge was dismissed as not
maintainable, by making the aforementioned observations because in
last almost 20 years the claimants - the aged parents, wife and five
children of Nanag Ram, who became a victim of road accident in 1992,
must have exhausted all their resources in prosecuting and contesting
the litigation till the stage of High Court and they must not have
been left with money sufficient for engaging an advocate in this Court
and also because in last almost five years, during which the special
leave petition remained pending in this Court, they must have lost all
hopes to get justice. The learned Single Judge of the High Court had
allowed the appeal filed by the dependants of Nanag Ram under Section
173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short, ‘the Act’) and
enhanced the compensation awarded by Motor Accident Claims Tribunal,
Jaipur (for short, ‘the Tribunal’) by an amount of Rs.4,85,000/- and
directed the appellant to pay the enhanced compensation with interest
at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from the date of filing the claim
petition till 31.12.2000 and at the rate of 9 per cent from
1.1.2001 till the payment thereof, but on account of ex-parte interim
order passed by this Court on 23.7.2007, the claimants could get a
paltry sum of Rs. 2 lakhs and they perhaps thought that it will not be
worthwhile to spend money for contesting the special leave petition
filed by the appellant. This is perhaps the thinking of many thousands
of poor litigants, who succeed in the Courts below and the High Courts
but cannot afford the cost and expenses of contesting litigation in
the highest Court of the country and suffer silently in the name of
the Almighty God by treating it as their destiny.
Nanag Ram died in a road accident which occurred on 9.3.1992
when his motorcycle was struck by a truck owned by respondent No.10-
Ram Chandra Paliwal and driven by Raghu Nath, whose name was deleted
from the array of parties vide order dated 2.4.2009. At the time of
accident, Nanag Ram's age was about 36 years and he was employed as a
Machine Operator in National Engineering Company Ltd., Jaipur for a
salary of Rs.4,000/- per month.
The dependants of Nanag Ram filed a petition under Section 166
of the Act for award of compensation to the tune of Rs.24 lakhs by
alleging that their bread winner had died due to rash and negligent
driving of the truck by
Shri Raghu Nath. While the owner of the truck and its driver did not
file a reply to contest the claim petition, the appellant raised all
possible objections. In the reply filed on behalf of the appellant it
was prayed that the claimants be directed to prove whether the driver
of the offending vehicle was in the employment of the owner and had a
valid and effective driving licence. The appellant also sought a
direction to the owner for production of the original insurance policy
and, as is usually done in such cases, it claimed that the accident
was not caused due to rash and negligent driving of the truck. An
alternative plea taken by the appellant was that if an award is
passed, the contributory negligence of both the drivers be determined.
After considering the pleadings and evidence of the parties, the
Tribunal held that the accident was caused due to rash and negligent
driving of the truck. The Tribunal also accepted the claimants'
assertion that the deceased was employed as a Machine Operator in
National Engineering Company, Jaipur. The Tribunal then referred to
the evidence produced by the claimants on the issue of monthly income
of the deceased and held that it could be taken as Rs.3,000/- per
month. After deducting 1/3rd
towards personal expenses and applying the multiplier of 10, the
Tribunal concluded that the claimants are entitled to total
compensation of Rs.2,55,000/- with interest at the rate of 12 per cent
per annum w.e.f. 5.9.1992.
The learned Single Judge of the High Court took cognizance of
the fact that the employer was annually paying bonus to the deceased
at the rate of 20 per cent of his salary, referred to the judgment of
this Court in General Manager, Kerala State Road Transport Corporation
v. Susamma Thomas (1994) 2 SCC 176 and held that the claimants are
entitled to total compensation of Rs.6,45,300/-. The learned Single
Judge made additions of small amounts towards pains and sufferings,
loss of love and affection, consortium, security and protection and
directed the appellant to pay an additional amount of Rs.4,85,000/-
with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum.
The special appeal filed by the appellant was dismissed by the
Division Bench of the High Court by relying upon Section 100A of the
Code of Civil Procedure.
On 23.7.2007, this Court ordered notice on the special leave
petition and indirectly stayed the judgment of the learned Single
Judge of the High Court. For the sake of reference that order is
extracted below:
“Issue notice.
Without prejudice to the claims involved, let the petitioner
deposit a sum of Rupees three lakhs with the concerned MACT
within four weeks from today. A sum of Rupees two lakhs shall be
permitted to be withdrawn by the claimant without furnishing
security.”
As is the fate of large number of other special leave petitions,
this petition was not listed before the Court for next five years for
effective hearing and the appellant continued to enjoy the benefit of
ex-parte interim order. For the first time, the case was listed
before the Registrar on 15.10.2008 i.e. after almost one year and
three months of the issue of notice. The Registrar noted that notice
has not been served upon respondent Nos. 1 to 8 and 10 and an
application has been filed for deleting respondent No. 9 from the
array of parties. On 2.4.2009, the application was allowed by the
Chamber Judge. For next two years and five months, the file of the
case did not see the light of the day. On 14.9.2011, the case was
listed before the Registrar, who recorded the statement of the
appellant's counsel that he does not want to bring on record the legal
representatives of respondent Nos. 1 and 3. On 12.10.2011, the matter
was again listed before the Registrar, who directed that the matter be
placed before the Chamber Judge. When the matter was listed before the
Chamber Judge, he noted that the legal representatives of respondent
Nos. 1 and 3 are already on record. It should be a matter of concern
for those who are associated with this institution as to why an ex-
parte interim order passed by the Court should continue to operate for
years together without the matter being listed for effective hearing.
If the claimants had been members of economically affluent sections of
the society, they would have engaged an eminent advocate and taken
steps for hearing of the matter at an early date but, as noted
earlier, they do not have the financial capacity and resources to
engage any advocate for contesting the special leave petition.
We have heard learned counsel for the appellant and carefully
perused the record.
In our view, the appellant's challenge to the impugned order is
meritless and the appeal is liable to be dismissed. We are also
convinced that this is a fit case in which the Court should exercise
power under Article 142 of the Constitution and enhance the
compensation determined by the High Court by applying appropriate
multiplier.
We shall first consider whether the High Court was justified in
not applying the rule of 1/3rd deduction towards personal expenses of
the deceased.
In Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation (2009) 6 SCC 121,
the two Judge Bench made an endeavor to standardise the parameters for
determination of the compensation payable by the insurer and / or the
owner of the offending vehicle. While dealing with the issue of
deduction towards personal expenses, the Court made the following
observations:
“We have already noticed that the personal and living
expenses of the deceased should be deducted from the
income, to arrive at the contribution to the dependants.
No evidence need be led to show the actual expenses of the
deceased. In fact, any evidence in that behalf will be
wholly unverifiable and likely to be unreliable. The
claimants will obviously tend to claim that the deceased
was very frugal and did not have any expensive habits and
was spending virtually the entire income on the family. In
some cases, it may be so. No claimant would admit that the
deceased was a spendthrift, even if he was one.
It is also very difficult for the respondents in a claim
petition to produce evidence to show that the
deceased was spending a considerable part of the income on
himself or that he was contributing only a small part of
the income on his family. Therefore, it became necessary
to standardise the deductions to be made under the head of
personal and living expenses of the deceased. This lead to
the practice of deducting towards personal and living
expenses of the deceased, one-third of the income if the
deceased was married, and one-half (50%) of the income if
the deceased was a bachelor. This practice was evolved out
of experience, logic and convenience. In fact one-third
deduction got statutory recognition under the Second
Schedule to the Act, in respect of claims under Section
163-A of the Motor Vehicles Act,1988 (“the MV Act”, for
short). But, such percentage of deduction is not an
inflexible rule and offers merely a guideline.”
The Bench then referred to the judgments in Kerala State Road
Transport Corporation v. Susamma Thomas (1994) 2 SCC 176, U.P.SRTC v.
Trilok Chandra (1996) 4 SCC 362 and Fakeerappa v. Karnataka Cement
Pipe Factory (2004) 2 SCC 473 and held:
“Though in some cases the deduction to be made towards
personal and living expenses is calculated on the basis of
units indicated in Trilok Chandra, the general practice is
to apply standardised deductions. Having considered
several subsequent decisions of this Court, we are of the
view that where the deceased was married, the deduction
towards personal and
living expenses of the deceased, should be one-third
(1/3rd) where the number of dependent family members is 2
to 3, one-fourth (1/4th) where the number of dependent
family members is 4 to 6, and one-fifth (1/5th) where the
number of dependent family members exceeds six.”
The issue was recently considered in Santosh Devi v. National
Insurance Company Ltd. and others (Civil Appeal No.3723 of 2012
decided on 23.3.2012) and it was observed:
“It is also not possible to approve the view taken by the
Tribunal which has been reiterated by the High Court
albeit without assigning reasons that the deceased would
have spent 1/3rd of his total earning, i.e., Rs. 500/-,
towards personal expenses. It seems that the Presiding
Officer of the Tribunal and the learned Single Judge of
the High Court were totally oblivious of the hard
realities of the life. It will be impossible for a person
whose monthly income is Rs.1,500/- to spend 1/3rd on
himself leaving 2/3rd for the family consisting of five
persons. Ordinarily, such a person would, at best, spend
1/10th of his income on himself or use that amount as
personal expenses and leave the rest for his family.”
National Sample Survey Report No. 527 on Household Consumer
Expenditure in India 2006-07, which has been prepared after conducting
thorough research on the subject contains the figures of monthly per
capita expenditure (MPCE) for various classes. These are extracted
below:
|Table 5R: Break-up of total monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE) by groups of items for |
|households in different MPCE classes |
|All-India | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Rural |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |no. of hhs |
| | |monthly per capita expenditure (Rs.) on item group for | |reporting |
| | |households in MPCE class (Rs.) | | |
|item group | | | | | | | | | | | | | |consumption |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |per | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |1000 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |hhs | |
| |0 - |235 -|270 -|320 -|365 -|410 -|455 -|510 -|580 -|690 -|890 -|1155 |all | |sample|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |& | | | |
| |235 |270 |320 |365 |410 |455 |510 |580 |690 |890 |1155 |more |class| |hhs |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |es | | |
|(1) |(2) |(3) |(4) |(5) |(6) |(7) |(8) |(9) |(10) |(11) |(12) |(13) |(14) |(15) |(16) |
|cereals |67.12|76.36|88.88|95.46|96.64|102.9|107.4|114.0|120.4|125.4|129.5|144.2|114.8|986 |32847 |
| | | | | | |7 |2 |3 |6 |3 |2 |3 |0 | | |
|gram |0.27 |1.04 |0.68 |0.50 |0.68 |0.85 |0.64 |0.88 |1.03 |1.33 |1.73 |2.91 |1.18 |199 |7489 |
|cereal substitutes|0.03 |0.06 |0.03 |0.03 |0.05 |0.12 |0.20 |0.21 |0.41 |0.45 |0.83 |1.94 |0.46 |71 |2837 |
|pulses and their |5.14 |8.11 |11.62|13.34|14.45|16.95|18.96|20.54|22.68|27.02|31.42|40.18|22.67|973 |32383 |
|products | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|milk and milk |2.86 |9.39 |8.73 |12.07|19.43|27.33|31.27|39.97|52.41|75.89|96.72|151.7|56.23|766 |26380 |
|products | | | | | | | | | | | |2 | | | |
|edible oil |7.85 |11.47|15.38|16.82|18.93|21.50|23.16|25.36|27.37|32.01|36.68|44.49|27.22|982 |32649 |
|egg, fish and meat|3.38 |6.31 |7.44 |10.39|13.29|15.00|17.75|19.79|24.31|29.50|38.74|52.13|24.32|616 |23272 |
|vegetables |14.91|20.67|25.39|28.91|30.20|34.50|36.62|40.01|44.79|49.98|56.44|67.88|43.06|986 |32826 |
|fruits: fresh |1.11 |1.46 |2.01 |2.82 |3.70 |4.18 |5.19 |6.17 |8.99 |11.75|16.75|32.28|10.02|773 |27530 |
|fruits: dry |0.04 |0.08 |0.30 |0.81 |0.74 |1.04 |1.14 |1.56 |1.87 |2.69 |4.30 |8.82 |2.45 |298 |10146 |
|sugar |3.21 |5.06 |6.16 |7.07 |8.10 |9.05 |10.77|12.04|14.07|17.12|20.61|27.87|14.04|957 |31880 |
|salt |0.69 |0.79 |0.90 |1.00 |1.00 |1.14 |1.14 |1.21 |1.38 |1.51 |1.77 |1.99 |1.34 |985 |32772 |
|spices |5.32 |7.50 |8.30 |9.70 |10.77|11.63|12.54|13.90|15.28|17.18|20.19|24.27|14.96|985 |32761 |
|beverages, etc. |5.09 |7.46 |10.29|11.72|14.78|16.27|19.10|22.21|25.79|33.65|46.72|92.60|30.67|982 |32800 |
|total: food |117.0|155.7|186.1|210.6|232.7|262.5|285.9|317.8|360.8|425.5|502.4|693.3|363.4|999 |33123 |
| |1 |6 |0 |3 |6 |3 |2 |8 |4 |0 |4 |2 |2 | | |
|pan |0.23 |0.41 |0.96 |1.44 |1.87 |1.65 |1.74 |1.99 |2.92 |3.26 |4.67 |4.43 |2.64 |305 |10407 |
|tobacco |1.91 |3.84 |4.80 |5.97 |5.68 |6.05 |7.40 |8.71 |9.02 |9.89 |11.05|15.17|8.70 |618 |19528 |
|intoxicants |1.92 |2.28 |3.58 |3.40 |4.91 |4.11 |4.22 |4.53 |5.90 |6.35 |7.77 |17.63|6.36 |181 |6278 |
|fuel and light |31.32|36.04|35.25|39.35|43.42|47.66|51.54|58.75|65.74|75.82|90.22|123.8|66.07|995 |33093 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |5 | | | |
|clothing |15.69|17.42|20.07|23.48|26.64|27.53|32.96|36.54|41.49|49.31|60.54|85.99|42.42|997 |33076 |
|footwear |2.26 |2.08 |2.14 |2.71 |3.50 |3.62 |4.36 |5.07 |5.98 |7.97 |10.27|15.73|6.53 |972 |32368 |
|Table 5R (contd.): Break-up of total monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE) by groups of items for |
|households in different MPCE classes |
|All-India | |Rural |
| |monthly per capita expenditure (Rs.) on item group for households in MPCE |no. of hhs |
| |class (Rs.) |reporting |
| | |consumption |
|item group |0 - |235 -|270 -|320 -|365 -|410 -|455 -|510 -|580 -|690 -|890 -|1155 |all |per |sample|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |& | |1000 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |hhs | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| |235 |270 |320 |365 |410 |455 |510 |580 |690 |890 |1155 |more |class| |hhs |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |es | | |
|(1) |(2) |(3) |(4) |(5) |(6) |(7) |(8) |(9) |(10) |(11) |(12) |(13) |(14) |(15) |(16) |
|education |1.91 |2.14 |2.98 |5.32 |6.07 |7.19 |8.70 |11.03|15.74|24.54|33.70|95.17|22.16|615 |21722 |
|medical-instituti|0.25 |0.58 |0.80 |1.57 |4.07 |4.14 |3.67 |4.42 |5.40 |11.31|24.02|94.38|15.55|127 |5076 |
|onal | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|medical-non-inst.|5.26 |5.63 |9.85 |11.75|11.90|17.98|19.29|23.94|28.05|42.80|57.93|125.5|36.74|685 |23349 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |3 | | | |
|entertainment |0.64 |0.69 |0.50 |0.81 |1.71 |1.34 |2.40 |2.34 |3.80 |4.68 |8.76 |18.36|4.74 |279 |11404 |
|goods for |0.23 |0.34 |0.24 |0.29 |0.92 |0.59 |1.08 |1.41 |1.44 |1.99 |2.52 |4.61 |1.63 |153 |5460 |
|personal care | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|toilet articles |5.42 |6.32 |7.60 |9.41 |10.25|11.42|12.79|14.49|16.79|20.18|24.61|43.52|17.87|994 |32966 |
|sundry articles |3.98 |5.45 |5.95 |7.14 |8.10 |9.31 |10.38|12.18|14.26|17.12|22.46|31.90|14.65|993 |32916 |
|cons. services | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|excluding | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|conveyance |4.31 |5.46 |7.29 |8.20 |9.96 |11.85|14.33|16.21|21.56|30.51|48.92|109.1|29.09|968 |31867 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |5 | | | |
|conveyance |2.60 |4.07 |3.26 |4.59 |7.16 |7.57 |10.11|12.04|15.42|26.39|44.51|114.9|25.77|754 |27051 |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |7 | | | |
|rent |0.00 |0.00 |0.01 |0.34 |0.23 |0.37 |0.77 |0.65 |0.94 |2.48 |4.31 |19.31|3.00 |63 |2648 |
|taxes and cesses |0.05 |0.09 |0.22 |0.47 |0.38 |0.58 |0.84 |0.90 |1.16 |1.85 |2.74 |6.46 |1.65 |347 |13380 |
|durable goods |2.45 |6.20 |4.59 |6.45 |6.26 |7.44 |8.54 |11.57|15.76|17.77|40.57|138.1|26.18|844 |27399 |
|total | | | | | | | | | | | |3 | | | |
|total: non-food |80.44|99.05|110.1|132.7|153.0|170.4|195.1|226.7|271.4|354.2|499.5|1064.|331.7|1000 |33145 |
| | | |0 |0 |3 |0 |1 |8 |0 |0 |6 |28 |5 | | |
|total expenditure|197.4|254.8|296.2|343.3|385.7|432.9|481.0|544.6|632.2|779.6|1002.|1757.|695.1|1000 |33146 |
| |5 |1 |0 |3 |9 |3 |3 |6 |3 |9 |01 |60 |6 | | |
|clothing: second |0.29 |1.12 |0.36 |0.29 |0.39 |0.40 |0.50 |0.26 |0.21 |0.33 |0.27 |0.19 |0.33 |69 |2761 |
|hand | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|footwear: second |0.01 |0.01 |0.00 |0.01 |0.01 |0.01 |0.01 |0.03 |0.02 |0.02 |0.04 |0.03 |0.02 |8 |409 |
|hand | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|2nd hand durable |0.05 |0.05 |0.15 |0.00 |0.01 |0.02 |0.02 |0.05 |0.05 |0.34 |0.94 |5.00 |0.65 |8 |305 |
|goods | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|estd. no. hhs(00)|19254|27459|57024|72159|10762|11833|14639|17083|24256|25995|18619|20089|16086| | |
| | | | | |2 |2 |8 |0 |5 |2 |3 |4 |81 | | |
|estd. no. |93943|15916|33627|40218|62854|64631|76969|88317|11335|11978|79995|73303|77836| | |
|pers(00) | |1 |7 |4 |1 |7 |8 |9 |08 |16 |8 |7 |17 | | |
|no. of sample |228 |299 |698 |1137 |1559 |1888 |2413 |3190 |4580 |6029 |4654 |6471 |33146| | |
|households | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|no. of sample |1167 |1785 |4262 |6569 |9053 |10427|13327|16902|23846|29967|21960|25820|16508| | |
|persons | | | | | | | | | | | | |5 | | |
|Table 5U: Break-up of total monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE) by groups of items for households|
|in different MPCE classes |
|All-India | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Urban |
| |monthly per capita expenditure (Rs.) on item group for households in MPCE |no. of hhs |
| |class (Rs.) |reporting |
| | |consumption |
| |0 – |335 –|395 –|485 –|580 –|675 –|790 –|930 |1100 |1380-|1880-|2540 |all |per |sample |
| |335 |395 |485 |580 |675 |790 |930 |-1100|-1380|1880 |2540 |& |class|1000 |hhs |
| | | | | | | | | | | | |more |es |hhs | |
|(1) |(2) |(3) |(4) |(5) |(6) |(7) |(8) |(9) |(10) |(11) |(12) |(13) |(14) |(15) |(16) |
|cereals |72.87|85.96|90.75|99.71|105.8|107.8|114.1|117.7|124.6|131.5|142.3|151.1|118.8|948 |29024 |
| | | | | |4 |6 |9 |9 |4 |6 |8 |6 |0 | | |
|gram |0.42 |0.47 |0.56 |0.74 |0.94 |1.02 |1.40 |1.73 |2.02 |2.44 |2.55 |3.00 |1.68 |271 |8232 |
|cereal substitutes|0.06 |0.09 |0.20 |0.34 |0.26 |0.44 |0.44 |0.46 |0.52 |0.60 |0.75 |1.02 |0.50 |88 |2256 |
|pulses and their |12.12|15.17|17.13|20.62|22.74|25.13|27.37|29.24|32.13|36.60|40.93|47.25|30.06|938 |28697 |
|products | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|milk and milk |11.25|20.39|25.29|33.76|46.68|57.50|69.83|89.31|107.1|138.0|161.8|235.6|97.49|893 |27409 |
|products | | | | | | | | |4 |1 |8 |2 | | | |
|edible oil |14.12|18.39|20.81|23.42|27.76|30.42|33.38|36.21|42.06|46.33|52.12|59.81|37.52|941 |28810 |
|egg, fish and meat|6.93 |10.97|15.13|19.44|24.33|25.20|29.93|30.71|37.40|41.02|51.46|67.53|34.20|571 |17945 |
|vegetables |20.84|27.36|30.75|37.88|39.80|43.50|50.49|54.18|62.46|70.31|77.18|98.71|56.87|943 |28884 |
|fruits: fresh |2.63 |3.59 |4.62 |7.01 |8.63 |10.16|13.03|15.39|21.44|29.66|40.18|71.11|21.97|887 |27616 |
|fruits: dry |0.44 |0.87 |1.31 |1.35 |1.73 |2.54 |2.78 |3.62 |4.81 |7.18 |13.28|23.46|6.03 |419 |13278 |
|sugar |7.14 |8.67 |10.65|11.01|13.41|14.71|16.05|17.94|19.17|20.20|22.76|25.53|17.25|933 |28576 |
|salt |0.88 |0.96 |1.10 |1.21 |1.37 |1.47 |1.57 |1.68 |1.82 |1.88 |2.03 |2.35 |1.66 |942 |28847 |
|spices |7.70 |10.20|12.02|13.98|14.97|16.37|17.37|19.08|20.40|21.50|23.75|28.40|18.82|941 |28825 |
|beverages, etc. |13.00|16.89|18.39|25.11|29.26|35.05|41.58|50.99|66.57|91.22|126.2|271.3|74.42|997 |30485 |
| | | | | | | | | | | |7 |3 | | | |
|total: food |170.4|219.9|248.7|295.5|337.7|371.3|419.4|468.3|542.5|638.4|757.5|1086.|517.2|999 |30562 |
| |2 |8 |0 |9 |3 |7 |2 |1 |8 |9 |1 |28 |5 | | |
|pan |0.72 |1.30 |1.88 |2.66 |2.21 |2.62 |2.78 |3.02 |3.82 |3.66 |4.41 |4.09 |3.12 |199 |7097 |
|tobacco |3.81 |4.36 |5.90 |8.08 |6.78 |8.22 |8.81 |9.26 |8.85 |10.00|9.92 |17.03|9.22 |356 |10914 |
|intoxicants |1.50 |1.69 |3.44 |4.38 |5.16 |4.28 |5.40 |4.49 |6.31 |7.21 |6.73 |16.04|6.24 |99 |3164 |
|fuel and light |38.42|47.01|56.77|64.68|73.68|85.05|92.24|107.3|123.7|143.5|171.3|255.8|117.4|993 |30384 |
| | | | | | | | |2 |5 |4 |6 |1 |4 | | |
|clothing |19.05|22.96|28.70|31.85|37.90|43.39|49.12|59.90|67.98|85.86|114.2|188.8|70.25|997 |30498 |
| | | | | | | | | | | |1 |0 | | | |
|footwear |2.59 |3.12 |4.21 |4.67 |5.95 |7.22 |8.53 |10.36|12.49|16.94|23.06|38.19|13.07|985 |30137 |
Here, we are dealing with a case in which the deceased had 8
dependents including four sons and one daughter. The question which
arises for our consideration is whether in 1992 a person having an
income of less than Rs.3,000/- and a family of 9 could think of
spending 1/3rd of his income on himself. On a conservative estimate,
it is possible to say, he would have spent at least 50% of the income
on the purchase of foodgrains, milk, etc., and for payment of water,
electricity and other bills. 25% of the income would have been spent
on the education of children which would have included school/college
fee, cost of books, etc. 15% of the income would have been used for
meeting other family necessities, like, clothes, medical expenses,
etc. He would have then been left with 10% of his income, a portion of
which could be used to meet unforeseen contingencies and on the
occasion of festivals. In this scenario, any deduction towards
personal expenses would be unrealistic. In any case, where the family
of the deceased comprised of 5 persons or more having an income of
Rs.3,000/- to Rs.5,000/-, it is virtually impossible for him to spend
more than 1/10th of the total income upon himself.
What we have observed hereinabove may not apply to rich people
living in urban areas who can afford to spend a substantial amount of
their income in clubs, hotels and on drinks parties. In those cases,
there may be a semblance of justification in applying the rule of
1/3rd deduction but it would be wholly unrealistic to universally
apply that rule in all cases.
On the basis of the above discussion, we hold that the learned
Single Judge of the High Court did not commit any error by not
following the rule of 1/3rd deduction towards the personal expenses of
the deceased.
We are also of the view that the High Court was justified in
determining the amount of compensation by granting 100% increase in
the income of the deceased. In the normal course, the deceased would
have served for 22 years and during that period his salary would have
certainly doubled because the employer was paying 20% of his salary as
bonus per year.
The issue which remains to be considered is whether the Tribunal
and the High Court committed an error by applying the multiplier of
10.
In Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation (supra), this
Court considered the question relating to selection of multiplier,
referred to the judgments in Kerala State Road Transport Corporation
v. Susamma Thomas (supra), U.P.SRTC v. Trilok Chandra (supra) and the
Second Schedule appended to the Act and held :
“We therefore hold that the multiplier to be used should be as
mentioned in Column (4) of the table above (prepared by
applying Susamma Thomas, Trilok Chandra and Charlie), which
starts with an operative multiplier of 18 (for the age groups
of 15 to 20 and 21 to 25 years), reduced by one unit for every
five years, that is M-17 for 26 to 30 years, M-16 for 31 to 35
years, M-15 for 36 to 40 years, M-14 for 41 to 45 years, and M-
13 for 46 to 50 years, then reduced by two units for every
five years, that is, M-11 for 51 to 55 years, M-9 for 56 to 60
years, M-7 for 61 to 65 years and M-5 for 66 to 70 years.”
It is not in dispute that at the time of accident, the age of
the deceased was 36 years. Therefore, the Tribunal and the High Court
were not right in applying the multiplier of 10. They should have
adopted the multiplier of 15 for the purpose of determining the amount
of compensation.
In the result, the appeal is dismissed. However, with a view to
do complete justice to the claimants, we suo motu re-determine the
amount of compensation in the following terms by applying the
multiplier of 15 and hold that the claimants are entitled to a total
amount of Rs.10,63,040/-:
Amount of compensation with 12 months
salary and 15 as multiplier : Rs. 5378 x 12 x 15 =
Rs.9,68,040
[Rs.2,689 pm x 2= Rs. 5,378/-
pm]
Compensation to Family members
for loss of love &
affection, deprivation of
protection, social security, etc. : Rs.70,000/-
Compensation to the widow of
the deceased for loss of love &
affection, pains and sufferings,
loss of consortium, deprivation of
protection, social security, etc. : Rs.25,000/-
Total Compensation : Rs.10,63,040
[Rs.9,68,040 + Rs. 70,000 + Rs. 25,000]
The claimants shall also get interest on the enhanced
compensation at the rate of 12% per annum from the date of filing the
claim petition.
The appellant is directed to pay the enhanced / additional
compensation and interest to the claimants within a period of six
weeks by getting a demand draft prepared in the name of respondent
No.2, that is, the widow of the deceased. The latter shall invest 50%
of the amount in a fixed deposit of three years term in a nationalized
bank.
Since the appellant had enjoyed the ex-parte interim order
passed by this Court for a period of five years, it is directed to pay
cost of Rs.5 lakhs to the claimants.
The appellant shall submit compliance report in the Registry of
the Rajasthan High Court, Jaipur Bench. The Registry shall list the
matter before an appropriate Bench for perusal of the report. If the
Bench finds that the appellant has failed to comply with the
directions contained in this order, it shall initiate proceedings
against the officers of the appellant under the Contempt of Courts
Act, 1971 and also order recovery of the amount as arrears of land
revenue.
.............................J
[G.S. SINGHVI]
.............................J
[SUDHANSU JYOTI MUKHOPADHAYA]
NEW DELHI
JULY 05, 2012.
-----------------------
|Table 5U (contd.): Break-up of total monthly per capita consumer expenditure (MPCE) by groups | |of items for households in different MPCE | |classes | |All India | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Urban | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |no. of hhs | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |reporting | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |consumption| | | |monthly per capita expenditure (Rs.) on item group for | | | | | |households in MPCE class (Rs.) | | | |item group | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |per |Sampl| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |1000 |e hhs| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |hhs | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |0 - |335 |395 |485 |580 |675 |790 |930 |1100|1380|1880|2540|all | | | | | |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |- |& | | | | | |335 |395 |485 |580 |675 |790 |930 |1100|1380|1880|2540|more|clas| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |ses | | | |(1) |(2) |(3) |(4) |(5) |(6) |(7) |(8) |(9) |(10)|(11)|(12)|(13)|(14)|(15) |(16) | |education |5.27|6.35|11.3|13.2|21.6|26.5|38.0|48.7|68.4|110.|182.|424.|91.6|721 |22518| | | | |9 |1 |8 |8 |2 |3 |4 |25 |02 |68 |0 | | | |medical-institu|2.34|1.10|2.43|6.17|3.94|8.64|10.3|12.1|16.9|24.3|40.1|128.|24.3|140 |4199 | |tional | | | | | | |9 |6 |0 |5 |8 |41 |5 | | | |medical-non-ins|8.69|12.9|18.2|24.1|25.3|34.3|44.9|46.1|55.7|73.2|95.9|167.|58.2|718 |21973| |t. | |0 |3 |5 |4 |0 |3 |9 |1 |9 |6 |96 |3 | | | |entertainment |0.77|1.60|2.91|4.97|7.14|9.09|12.5|16.0|22.3|32.7|48.1|87.2|24.0|581 |19683| | | | | | | | |5 |6 |7 |7 |0 |7 |5 | | | |goods for |0.22|0.37|0.51|0.59|0.67|1.15|1.41|2.36|2.08|3.30|6.58|10.9|2.88|133 |5258 | |personal care | | | | | | | | | | | |7 | | | | |toilet articles|8.77|10.6|12.7|15.5|18.4|21.1|24.1|27.4|32.8|41.0|52.0|72.6|31.8|998 |30516| | | |6 |6 |3 |4 |7 |4 |3 |2 |9 |5 |5 |2 | | | |sundry articles|6.18|8.35|9.75|12.2|14.4|16.8|19.4|21.5|26.6|33.3|43.2|63.9|26.0|992 |30388| | | | | |7 |0 |7 |1 |0 |5 |2 |4 |2 |9 | | | |cons. services | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |excluding | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |conveyance |7.04|9.85|13.5|15.7|21.5|29.1|38.7|54.0|75.7|118.|201.|447.|98.5|979 |29926| | | | |0 |8 |4 |9 |3 |4 |9 |46 |07 |68 |7 | | | |conveyance |4.61|4.88|7.09|10.7|18.1|23.0|29.5|45.6|67.0|103.|162.|369.|81.6|842 |26258| | | | | |7 |2 |5 |8 |6 |6 |32 |52 |38 |3 | | | |rent |3.25|5.98|7.08|12.3|14.3|24.1|32.4|46.0|59.3|91.5|125.|264.|66.9|365 |10449| | | | | |3 |3 |8 |3 |6 |1 |8 |05 |55 |6 | | | |taxes and |0.65|1.56|1.96|2.31|3.41|5.00|5.68|7.42|8.76|11.7|18.9|42.4|10.5|521 |16087| |cesses | | | | | | | | | |2 |3 |9 |2 | | | |durable goods |2.59|3.85|5.71|7.37|9.53|12.4|15.8|20.7|28.4|51.1|96.8|382.|59.2|818 |24981| |total | | | | | |0 |3 |7 |6 |4 |2 |12 |1 | | | |total: non-food|116.|147.|194.|241.|290.|362.|439.|542.|687.|961.|1402|2982|795.|1000 |30583| | |48 |88 |23 |77 |24 |40 |97 |72 |55 |82 |.21 |.06 |25 | | | |total |286.|367.|442.|537.|627.|733.|859.|1011|1230|1600|2159|4068|1312|1000 |30583| |expenditure |90 |85 |94 |36 |96 |77 |40 |.04 |.14 |.31 |.72 |.34 |.50 | | | |clothing: |0.82|0.53|0.39|0.31|0.32|0.34|0.30|0.22|0.17|0.17|0.16|0.09|0.25|38 |1587 | |second hand | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |footwear: |0.02|0.05|0.03|0.02|0.03|0.01|0.03|0.01|0.03|0.03|0.01|0.03|0.02|9 |276 | |second hand | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |2nd hand |0.00|0.08|0.04|0.08|0.20|0.32|0.23|0.21|0.50|1.08|0.87|6.14|0.92|11 |304 | |durable goods | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |imputed rent |50.9|60.8|73.4|91.3|107.|123.|143.|170.|211.|284.|472.|826.|245.|653 |20248| | |8 |3 |4 |0 |16 |44 |57 |39 |24 |56 |82 |60 |22 | | | |estd. no. |6764|9524|2331|3704|3855|4630|5864|6242|7820|8277|5889|7598|5784| | | |hhs(00) | | |6 |6 |9 |0 |7 |0 |3 |5 |2 |7 |34 | | | |estd. no. |3633|5901|1383|1953|2078|2289|2758|2750|3244|3128|2099|2199|2483| | | |pers(00) |4 |4 |95 |88 |08 |06 |15 |04 |24 |92 |81 |63 |925 | | | |no. of sample |265 |335 |837 |1259|1423|1795|2269|2561|3939|5885|4739|5276|3058| | | |households | | | | | | | | | | | | |3 | | | |no. of sample |1539|2101|4983|6902|7623|9220|1100|1181|1702|2309|1637|1515|1268| | | |persons | | | | | | |9 |0 |2 |6 |2 |1 |28 | | |