Kalpana Das & Anr v. Amit Sharma & Anr

V. B. GUPTA, J. April 30, 2008 rs

* HIGH COURT OF DELHI : NEW DELHI MAC APP 260/2008 % Judgment reserved on: 25th April, 2008 Judgment delivered on:30th April, 2008 1. Smt. Kalpana Das W/o Late Sh.Himanshu Das, 2. Smt. Malti Das W/o Sh. Dabarsar Das, 3. Sh. Madhav Das S/o Late Sh. Himanshu Das, 4. Smt. Aarti Das W/o Khuddi Ram Das, 5. Jotish Kumar S/o Late Sh. Himanshu Das, 6. Ranjan Kumar S/o Late Sh. Himanshu Das, 7. Sarti D/o Late Sh. Himanshu Das, 8. Uttam Kumar S/o Late Sh. Himanshu Das, 9. Sattam Kumar S/o Late Sh. Himanshu Das, 10. Sh. Manoranjan Das S/o Late Sh. Bhagwan Das, Petitioner No. 6 to 9 being minor through their mother and natural guardian Smt. Kalpana Das (Petitioner No. 1) All resident of Jhuggi No. 227 and CN No. 278, Mahatma Gandhi Camp, Road No. 77, near Mother's Pride School and CNG Petrol Pump, Ring Road, West Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi (Permanent Add. H.No.538, Village-Basamanapur, P.O Motihari Distt. East Champaran, Bihar) ..... Appellants Through: Mr. S.N. Parashar, Adv. Vs. 1. Sh. Amit Sharma S/o Sh. K.K. Sharma, R/o H.No. 648, Sector-4, Gurgaon (Haryana) And also at 1253/1A, Nath Business Center, Nagal Dewat, New Delhi. (Driver and Owner) 2. The New India Assurance Co. Ltd., A-2/3, Lusa Tower, Azadpur, Delhi-110033. ..... Respondents Through: Mr. Kanwal Chaudhary, Adv. for Respondent No. 2/Insurance Company. Coram: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE V.B. GUPTA 1. Whether the Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? Yes 2. To be referred to Reporter or not? Yes 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? Yes V.B.Gupta, J. The present appeal has been filed by the appellants against the impugned judgment dated 07.01.08 passed by Sh. Gulshan Kumar, Judge, Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (for short as "Tribunal"), Rohini, Delhi, for enhancement of the compensation amount. 2. In a nutshell, the facts relevant for the purpose of dealing with this appeal are as follows: 3. On 25.04.06 at about 1.25 a.m., the deceased Himanshu Das along with his neighbors were sleeping on Central Verge/Road divider, Ring Road, Ganda Nala, Near CNG, Petrol Pump, West Punjabi Bagh, New Delhi. In the meantime, one Indica car bearing no. DL-9CC-6219 came from the side of Punjabi Bagh and was giving towards Raja Garden, in a rash and negligent manner. The driver of the said Indica car, without observing the traffic norms hit and boarded on Central Verge and crushed the deceased along with his neighbors. Deceased, Himanshu Das died on the spot but was taken to Sanjay Gandhi Memorial Hospital, where he was declared brought dead. 4. A petition seeking compensation was filed by the parents, widow and children of the deceased against the driver, owner and insurer of the Indica car No. DL-9CC- 6219. 5. The Tribunal vide impugned judgment, awarded compensation of Rs.3,43,516/- with interest @ 6.5% p.a. in favour of the appellants from the date of filing the petition till realization. 6. Not satisfied with the award, the appellants have preferred the present appeal, seeking enhancement of the compensation. 7. It has been contended by Learned Counsel for the appellants that deceased was working as Raj Mistri/Mason and the same comes under the category of skilled worker; hence, the Tribunal erred in considering the income of the deceased on the basis of Minimum Wages of unskilled worker. The Tribunal has not considered the income of the deceased as per his vocation. Further, the Tribunal has not considered the future prospects and future rise in income of the deceased at the time of assessment of compensation. As per the various judgments of this Court and Apex Court no amount is to be deducted towards self-expenses of the deceased when the Tribunal has considered the income of the deceased on the basis of Minimum Wages act, whereas, the Tribunal had deducted ¼th amount of income towards self-expenses of the deceased which is very high because the deceased left behind ten family members. 8. Thus, the principal question that arises for determination in thi