Karnataka High Court
National Insurance Co Ltd vs Smt Rekha on 8 March, 2010
Bench: N.K.Patil, B.Sreenivase Gowda
SAUNDATTI TALUK
BELGAUM DISTRICT.
3 ADARSHA
S/O CHANDRASHEKARA PATTANSHETTI
7 YRS, R/O SOPPADLA, SAUNDATTI TALUK '
BELGAUM DISTRICT. "
-R 2 Ba 3 ARE MINORS, REP BY
THEIR NATURAL GUARDIAN
MOTHER -- SMTREKHA
4 KUTUBUDDIN .
S / O HUSSEINSAI3 HALADI
MAJOR, OCC: BUSINESS ,
R/O JIDDI ONI, MUNAVALLI"»,_
TQ: SAUNDATTIE , * " "
DIST: BELGAUM RESPONDENTS
(BY SRI. I-LM DHARIGOND,.2§D.v EOR Ri'1v.TO.':3~-
R-4 SERVEDSI .UNREI9RESENTE.D3,__ ' ~ '
THIS_ MEA FILE:]_3-Ui3]DER :S.FIC'1,"T6N 173(1) OF THE MV
ACT A._:(':AINST'T'!.'_EfIE ';IUDr:{MENT AND AWARD DATED 3-11-2005
PASSEI"3_IN._MVCV2123612-,/T2002 ON THE FILE OF' THE CIVIL
JUDGE, MEII/IISER, ;'IDDT§{;Ii\/£ACT, SAUNDATTI AWARDING A
COMPENSATION OF' Rs§;8,%I9,000/A WITH FUTURE INTEREST AT
TII'E5%RATE..,_OR 65/c.vv----I>«.«A', FROM THE DATE OF' PETITION TILL
. REALISAT1QI\I::._
A ' THuI'S..M,FA COMING ON FOR HEARING THIS DAY, N.K.
PATIL DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
.. ...~,».--»-I
...mLL__ ..m.
I
JUDGMENT
This appeal by the appellant--insurer is directed against the impugned judgment and award dated 3~ I-;clg:1.l¥'£Z.O0E'> passed in MVC No.1"/'62/2002 on the file of and Additional Motor Accidents Claims 'E'ribi.tn'a.l, Sa'undaitti.__ i By the impugned judgment and:g'iai2lvard,_ awarded compensation of Rs._8,49,(l)'Q0i/'.--_ with.glVi'ntle1'e'sti p.a. from the date of petition---ltiil, the date~». giayrnlent one account of death of one Chandrashekar Patitansihetti in a road traffic accident. The co.rnpensati_on' 'awarded by the Tribunal is ex_c.e:slsi.Ve ilialoiei t*o°'_'oe reduced substantially. Hencezvvthis*a}§petal=_T'i it
2.i'i'--he=brief faicts.-oifthe case are:
They_l_gl"res;iiondent No.1 is the wife and and 3 are the minor children of the deceased Pattanshetti. They filed a claim petition under 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 against the owner of the offending vehicle contending that the ' deceased was aged 40 years and was working as Manager in ccccccccccccc e the Jain Temple, drawing a salary of Rs.5,500/-- per month. He was the sole bread earner of the family. On l5~2~2'OQ2 at about 8.30 pm. near Makali on N.ll.--4, within "of Neiamangala Police Station , while the d.e_ceased' returning from Jain Temple, Ban"ga--l.o,re5_, on isco]otVe--r bearing No.KA--O1/L--2397, a car, driven by its driver in a rash--_a'n.d negligent' man~ne"1*'a'nd in"
high speed, dashed against the------sco0ter_. Due 'to. the impact, he fell down, sustained'grievcus:iifnjuritesiand succumbed to the injuries. The ,_said"VcVlai::9jf1 up before the Tribunal. _.-The 5flMVTritsun_al',_,. agfter assessing oral and docurijieinitaryieyidehce_orrrecordfiassessed the income of the deceased at ;'+_:iiii'per~ month and by adopting the multiplier of gM,.,awa1?de'd"iia compensation of Rs.7,84,000/- loss oti"de~pe'ndency. The Tribunal has awarded V coiI1pAe"n.satior1T'0f Rs.65,000/-- under conventional heads. Beiiiig aggrieifed by the said judgment and award, the appe1lant--ir1surer has filed this appeal on the ground that WW4 I W. compensation awarded by the Tribunal is excessive and requires reduction.
3. We have heard the learned counsel for and respondents. i it it
4. After careful perusal of vaiwaird passed by the Tribunal, what emerges is,' $116 committed an error in assessin'g,_inco1"ne ofuthe id_Vec'easied at"
Rs.7,000/-- per month whiclimis'<ex'cessiyei.'*-Thei accident occurred in the year dece_ased_pwas working as Manager in the_Ja_in Te'rnp£e;: of Rs.5,500/ - Pei" m0I1thr.~ .._to:;'the,iiaige, occupation and numberioif deceased, we can safely assess the incierne. at month, out of which 1 /3rd has to be dedi1~eted._t'owa_rds" his personal expenses. The net in-i§iin¢3§..cs:co.1r1es iito"'"'R'sV.4,334/« per month. Age of the Li 40 years and appropriate multiplier is
15.ii"Wei refdetermine the compensation towards loss of depeitdericy at Rs.7,80,120/-- (Rs.-4,334/-- x 12 x :5) as V' against Rs.'7,8-4,000/-- awarded by the Tribunal. .- .,....,,..- ' 5
5. Further, the Tribunal has committed an error in awarding Rs.65,000/-- under conventional headsj"Wilfi--i_ch.VA€ is excessive and the same requires modification. _.'HaviArig:rega~rdt'v. to the facts and circumstances,_ we'.illdetermineA.V t-hex' compensation of Rs.20,000/-- toWards»'ioss»._o'f Rs.10,000/-- towards loss of*e_s'tate, 1ilG,OOO;/ll?itowtairdis of love and affection and Rs. /-epltowairdsltransportation and funeral expenses, ;----in:"a_lAl conventional heads. Thus, __in all,,.. entitled to Rs. 8,130,120/-- 4 a lVV8"'LAt;%,O0O/-- awarded by the compensation comes to Rs.1a,a5¢: 3 V V For this appeal is allowed in part. The li'r;1pugn'edi"j1idigment and award passed by the isvi.modiiied"'and a compensation of Rs.8,30,120/~ is Rs.8,49,000/-- awarded by the Tribunal intepreistiat 6% per annum from the date of petition till the datefof realisation.
'/ r--*'""W/W' {WK The appe11ant--insurer is directed to deposit the totai compensation amount of Rs. 53,30,120/~ with intere.$t'~y_§'ithin a period of four weeks from the date of receipfiiof _ the judgment and award after deducting theta deposited.
The apportionment ff¥1.i'=1Cie undisturbed Office is directeeriftwo 'ustatutoryu amount of deposit made by the aplfieiiaritaéirasureflirnfnediateiy to the jurisdictional ~"T':=a'«g;§1';nar;._ oraiv up"th'e;- a=»tv.,afi-:1'.-;a..c'cerdingiy. Sd/--s Judge safe;
Egafigé