Allowed¶25

Meena and Anr. v. Mangat Ram Bhandari and Ors.

Punjab & Haryana HC12 Mar 2026FAO/2673/2022

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Enhancement of motor accident compensation; death of 21-year-old; claimed Zomato salary of Rs.40,000/- p.m. rejected, unskilled worker wages of Rs.9,300/- p.m. upheld with 40% future prospects, 1/2 personal expenses deduction, multiplier 18; settlement offer of Rs.1,50,000/- accepted; FAO allowed; penal interest 8% on default; Meena and another v. Mangat Ram Bhandari and others; Punjab and Haryana High Court; Archana Puri, J.; FAO-2673-2022.

What did the court decide?

Enhancement of compensation by Rs.1,50,000/- over and above the awarded amount, payable by the Insurance Company to the appellants (parents of the deceased) equally, by cheques within 45 days; default attracts penal interest @ 8% per annum till realization. ¶25

Meena and Anr. Vs Mangat Ram Bhandari and Ors. — Punjab & Haryana HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

¶25

Issue for consideration

Whether the compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal for the death of Sanjay ought to be enhanced, and if so, to what extent.

¶15

Court's answer

The Court found that the Tribunal had appropriately assessed the deceased's earnings as that of an unskilled worker (Rs.9,300/- per month, with 40% towards future prospects, 1/2 deducted for personal expenses and multiplier of 18 applied), yielding a total compensation of Rs.14,51,160/-, notwithstanding the claim that he earned Rs.40,000/- per month working with 'Zomato'.

¶23

Ratio / Principle

Taking into account the working of the compensation in the Award, the amount offered by the Insurance Company (Rs.1,50,000/- over and above the awarded amount), accepted by counsel for the appellants, was held to be just and appropriate, and the FAO was allowed on that basis.

¶25

Key takeaways

The Insurance Company was directed to pay Rs.1,50,000/- over and above the awarded amount, to be disbursed equally to the appellants (parents of the deceased) in the form of cheques within a period of 45 days.ratio¶28
In the event of default by the Insurance Company in making payment within the given period, it shall be liable to pay penal interest @ 8% per annum till realization.ratio¶28

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

FAO-2673-2022 (High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh, decided 12.03.2026, Archana Puri, J.) - Appeal by the claimant-parents for enhancement of Motor Accident Claims Tribunal compensation for the death of their 21-year-old son Sanjay in a motor vehicular accident of 20.05.2020. The Court noted the Tribunal had appropriately taken the deceased's income as that of an unskilled worker (Rs.9,300/- p.m.) rather than the asserted Rs.40,000/- p.m. ('Zomato'), added 40% future prospects, deducted 1/2 for personal expenses and applied multiplier 18, totalling Rs.14,51,160/-. On the Insurance Company's offer of Rs.1,50,000/- over and above the awarded amount, accepted by the appellants' counsel, the Court held the offer just and appropriate, allowed the FAO, and directed payment equally to the parents by cheques within 45 days, with penal interest @ 8% per annum till realization on default.

¶1

¶2

FAO-2673-2022

¶3

IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

¶4

Sr. No.146

¶5

FAO-2673-2022 Date of Decision: 12.03.2026

¶6

MEENA AND ANOTHER

¶7

....Appellants

¶8

Versus

¶9

MANGAT RAM BHANDARI AND OTHERS

¶10

.....Respondents

¶11

CORAM: HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE ARCHANA PURI

¶12

Present:Mr. J.P. Sharma, Advocate for the appellants.

¶13

¶14

ARCHANA PURI, J. (Oral)

¶15

The present appeal has been filed by the appellants/claimants for seeking enhancement of compensation, awarded by learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, on account of death of their son-Sanjay, who was 21 years old, in a motor vehicular accident, which had taken place on 20.05.2020.

¶16

Perusal of the impugned Award reveals that liability fastened upon the respondents is joint and several.

¶17

For the time being, notice issued only to respondent No.3Insurance Company.

¶18

Mr. Vinod Gupta, Advocate, accepts notice on behalf of the Insurance Company. As such, issuance of formal notice to the Insurance Company, is dispensed with.

¶19

SONU 2026.03.12 15:35 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document

¶20

¶21

FAO-2673-2022

¶22

At this stage, counsel for the Insurance Company has made an offer for payment of Rs.1,50,000/-, over and above the awarded amount and this offer is acceptable to the counsel for the appellants.

¶23

In view of the offer made, which is acceptable to the counsel for the appellants, I have gone through the impugned Award. Perusal of the same reveals that deceased-Sanjay was 21 years old, at the time of accident. Though, he was stated to be working with ‘Zomato’ and his earnings were asserted to be Rs.40,000/- per month, but however, on appraisal of evidence brought on record, learned Tribunal had appropriately considered the earnings of the deceased as that of an unskilled worker, prevalent at the relevant time, which was to the extent of Rs.9,300/- per month. Addition of 40% was made, on the count of ‘future prospects’, which was to the extent of Rs.3,720/-. Thus, the monthly earnings were assessed as Rs.13,020/-. Considering the deceased to be a bachelor, 1/2 deduction was made, on the count of ‘personal expenses’ and as such, the monthly loss of dependency was worked upon as Rs.6,510/-, annual whereof is Rs.78,120/-. Multiplier of ‘18’ was appropriately applied and after applying the same, the compensation was worked upon as Rs.14,06,160/- (78,120 x 18).

¶24

Besides the aforesaid, an amount of Rs.45,000/- was also awarded, on the counts of ‘loss of estate’, ‘funeral expenses’ and ‘love and affection’ and as such, the total compensation was worked upon as Rs.14,51,160/- (14,06,160 + 45,000).

¶25

Considering the aforesaid ‘ work on ’ of compensation, the amount, as now offered by the Insurance Company, is just and appropriate. SONU Considering the same, the FAO is hereby allowed and the Insurance 2026.03.12 15:35 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document

¶26

¶27

FAO-2673-2022

¶28

Company is directed to make payment of Rs.1,50,000/-, over and above the awarded amount. The said amount be disbursed to the appellants, who are parents of the deceased, equally. The enhanced amount shall be payable by the Insurance Company, in the form of cheques, within a period of 45 days. In the eventuality of any default on the part of the Insurance Company, to make the payment in the given period, it shall be liable to pay penal interest @ 8% per annum, till realization.

¶29

(ARCHANA PURI) 12.03.2026 JUDGE Himanshu Vats Whether speaking/reasoned : Yes Whether reportable : Yes/No

¶30

SONU 2026.03.12 15:35 I attest to the accuracy and authenticity of this document

Meena and Anr. v. Mangat Ram Bhandari and Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Meena and Anr. v. Mangat Ram Bhandari and Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Why is it important?

What the court decided

Issues for consideration

Procedural history

Parties & counsel

Coram

Case details

Similar cases

Yashmi and Anr. Vs Hawa Singh and Ors.

Manpreet Kaur Vs Bunty

Sangeeta Vs Rajesh

Madhu Vs Surinder Pal

Sarita Rani Vs Kuldeep Kumar

Neha Vs Aditya Sharma