Allowed

Shrimati Jagapatiya Devi And Ors. v. Amrik Singh And Anr.

Jharkhand HC13 Jun 2017MA/143/2010

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

The High Court enhanced compensation awarded to appellants for the death of Harinder Singh in a road accident, recalculating income and multiplier based on the deceased's age while referencing the ratio laid down in Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. vs. Nanjappan.

What did the court decide?

Compensation enhanced to Rs.5,58,000/- with 6% p.a. interest, payable by the insurance company with right to recover from vehicle owner.

Shrimati Jagapatiya Devi And Ors. Vs Amrik… — Civil Procedure and Limitation | Jharkhand HC (2017)

¶1

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI

¶2

---

¶3

M.A. No.143 of 2010

¶4

–---

¶5

1. Shrimati Jagapatiya Devi, wife of late Mahabir Singh

¶6

2. Dinesh Kumar, s/o late Harinder Singh

¶7

3. Rekha Kumari, D/o late Harinder Singh.

¶8

All r/o Pesrar, P.O.P.S & District- Latehar.

¶9

…. . Appellants.

¶10

Versus

¶11

1. Amrik Singh, s/o Kewal Singh, permanent address at Faridabad, P.O.216/16 Faridabad, P.S.Faridabad, District-Haryana, at present r/o Circular Rod, P.O.P.S Lalpur, District-Ranchi.

¶12

2. National Insurance Company Limited, c/O Divisionl Manager, Hazaribagh, P.O.P.S & District – Hazaribagh.

¶13

…. Respondents.

¶14

----CORAM: HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE AMITAV K.GUPT A -For the Appellants : Mr. V.K.Sharma. Advocate. For the Respondent No.2 : M/s.Alok Lal, Advocate.

¶15

----

¶16

16/13.06.2017 The present appeal has been preferred by the claimants for enhancement of the awarded compensation of Rs.2,26,000/- payable by the respondent/National Insurance Company Ltd. with a right to recover the said amount from the respondent-owner of the vehicle.

¶17

2. The deceased,Harinder Singh was a khalasi of a truck bearing registration no.HR-38D-4871 and on 1.10.2005 the said truck, which was being driven rashly and negligently by the driver, met with an accident at Sangahari Ghati within Chatra P.S., District-Chatra due to which Harinder Singh died on account of injuries sustained in the accident.

¶18

3. Learned counsel for the claimants/appellants has assailed the impugned award on the following grounds;-

¶19

i) That the Tribunal has erred in not adding Rs.40/which was paid as 'khoraki' (daily allowance) to the deceased apart from the wages of Rs.2500/- paid per month. ii) The Tribunal has not added 'khoraki' towards the income of the deceased on the ground that witnesses have made contradictory statements with respect to the amount of 'khoraki' as some have stated that he was being paid Rs.40/- whereas others have stated that he was being paid Rs.30/- as

¶20

¶21

'khoraki' and has disbelieved the statement of the witnesses.

¶22

Iii ) That the Tribunal has erred in applying the multiplier of 11 on the basis of the age of the dependent mother of the deceased i.e. the claimant, whereas it is settled principle that the age of the deceased is to be considered for computing or assessing the compensation.

¶23

iv ) That the Tribunal has not granted any interest on the awarded compensation rather it has ordered for grant of interest at the rate of 7 per cent p.a., if the appellant failed to pay the compensation within one month from the date of the order.

¶24

4 . Learned counsel for the respondent/National Insurance Company has contended that the award is just and reasonable. It is contended that once the claimant has accepted and received the compensation as full and final settlement he is estopped from challenging the quantum of the award. It is urged that the appeal is devoid of merit and is fit to be dismissed.

¶25

It is argued that no error has been committed by taking into account the age of the mother of the deceased, because the dependency is based on the longevity of the life of the dependent/claimant. It is argued that khoraki is not part of the income and is payable only for the days the deceased actually works. Moreover, the Tribunal was justified in disbelieving the aspect of 'khoraki' because there was no cogent evidence regarding the payment of 'khoraki' to the deceased by the owner of the truck.

¶26

It is contended that the liability has been fixed on the owner but the respondent has been directed to pay the awarded compensation with a right to recover hence, if this court is of the opinion that the compensation is to be enhanced then an order should be passed in terms of the ratio laid down by Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. vs. Nanjappan, reported in AIR 2004 SC 1630 and enhancement of the compensation cannot be allowed without giving an opportunity of hearing to the owner of the truck.

¶27

5 . Heard. At the outset it is necessary to point out

¶28

¶29

that the owner of the truck has been arrayed as respondent no.1 in the present appeal. It transpires from the record that he was O.P. no.1 in the court below. The owner of the truck had not appeared in the court below and despite steps taken for service of notice through ordinary and registered post the notices were returned unserved. Consequent thereto, steps for substituted service of notice by publication was made in the Hindi newspaper, namely, Dainik Jagran. Despite all the steps taken by the appellant respondent no.1 failed to appear in this appeal hence, the appeal has been heard ex parte as against respondent no.1

¶30

6 . It is settled principle of law that for computing the compensation the age of the deceased is to be considered and not the age of the dependents as the age of the dependents may vary depending on the number of the claimants and it it is not feasible or justified to fix a mean age for computing the compensation. It is evident that the deceased left behind two minor children who are claimants represented through their grand-mother i.e. the claimant/appellant, in the present appeal.

¶31

The allowances are part of the salary in the facts and circumstances of the case. It is evident that there is in consistency in the statement of witnesses with respect to the amount of khoraki paid to the deceased. In such circumstance, the Tribunal should have assessed the monthly income of the deceased at Rs.3,000/- p.m. Therefore, the annual income of the deceased is assessed at Rs.36,000/- out of which one third(1/3) is deducted towards the personal expenses accordingly, the annual loss of dependency is assessed at Rs.24,000/-. The deceased was aged 32 years hence the multiplier of 17 is applicable consequently, the total loss of dependency is calculated at Rs.4,08,000/- and a lump sum amount of Rs.1.5 lakh is awarded towards funeral expenses, loss of estate and towards non-pecuniary damages for loss of love and affection. Thus, the total compensation is assessed at Rs.5,58,000/- with interest at the rate of 6 % p.a. payable from the date of the order of the court below on the enhanced amount.

¶32

The respondent/Insurance Company shall pay the

¶33

¶34

aforesaid amount to the claimants/appellants less the amount already paid and recover the said amount from the owner of the vehicle in terms of the ratio laid down in the case of Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. vs. Nanjappan (Supra).

¶35

7 . With the aforesaid observation/direction the appeal is allowed with modification of the award/judgment to the extent as indicated, hereinabove.

¶36

(Amitav K. Gupta,J)

¶37

Biswas.

Shrimati Jagapatiya Devi And Ors. v. Amrik Singh And Anr.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Shrimati Jagapatiya Devi And Ors. v. Amrik Singh And Anr.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

A compact analysis

Issues for consideration

Cases cited

Parties & counsel

Coram

Case details

Similar cases

Sunil Kumar Singh Vs The State Of Jharkhand And Ors.

Anamika Vs State Of Jharkhand And Ors.

Jugnu Construction And Ors. Vs Central Coalfields Ltd.

Bhagwan Das Yadav Vs Union Of India And Ors.

Antu Tirkey Vs the State of Jharkhand through Deputy Commissioner and Ors.

Ratna Mukherjee And Ors. Vs Rajesh Kumar Singh And Anr.