S. P. SRIVASTAVA, J. ( 1 ) FEELING aggrieved by the quantum of compensation fixed by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Gwalior (hereinafter referred to as the Tribunal) under the impugned award, the parents/claimants have now come up in appeal seeking enhancement of the compensation and modification of the award in question accordingly. ( 2 ) I have heard the learned counsel for the appellants as well as the learned counsel representing the contesting respondent, and have carefully perused the record. ( 3 ) THE facts in brief shorn of details, and necessary for the disposal of this appeal, lie in a narrow compass. An application under Section 110-A (or S. 166) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) was filed by the appellants praying for compensation of an amount of Rs. 4,50,000/-, on account of the death of their minor son, Monu aged about 10 years who had died as a result of the accident involving the offending vehicle, a tractor with trolley with registration No. M. B. H. 6832, in the evening of 10-5-1988. ( 4 ) MONU, the deceased was going along with his younger brother to purchase a kite in a narrow lane where he met with an accident and got crushed by the offending vehicle resulting in his death. His younger brother aged about 3 years was saved. ( 5 ) THE parents claimed that the deceased Monu was their eldest son who was a brilliant and a precocious child. Apart from Monu, the deceased minor child, the claimants had 5 daughters and a son but the parents had high expectations from Monu, and their future and the future of their other minor children was badly affected. It was claimed that in case Monu had not met with the accident, he would have lived for a long period and become an officer in the Indian Administrative Service which was the expectation of the parents. In that situation, he would have provided considerable monetary benefits to his parents and his brother and the sisters. This possibility had totally been blotted out. It was also claimed that the parents had suffered a great shock on account of the death of their minor son and this will leave them in trauma for the rest of their life. In that situation, he would have provided considerable monetary benefits to his parents and his brother and the sisters. This possibility had totally been blotted out. It was also claimed that the parents had suffered a great shock on account of the death of their minor son and this will leave them in trauma for the rest of their life. ( 6 ) OUT of the total amount of compensation claimed, the parents had sought for an amount of Rs. 50,000/- towards shock and mental agony and loss of companionship. Remaining Rs. 4,00,000/- was claimed representing the same to be the loss of income which the parents could have suffered out of the earnings of the deceased Monu during a period of about 35 years. ( 7 ) THE claimants had prayed for the award of interest at the rate of 12% per annum. ( 8 ) THE Tribunal taking into consideration the facts and circumstances brought on record, determined the quantum of compensation to be Rs. 48,000/- only. ( 9 ) WHILE coming to the aforesaid conclusion, the Tribunal assumed that the deceased Monu could have started his career as a Lower Division Clerk and earn an income of Rs. 1,000/- per month. At the relevant period, the Tribunal concluded that the age of the parents would have been 54 and 47 years. The notional contribution by the deceased towards his parents was taken to be Rs. 400/- per month and in this way the Tribunal determined the annual dependency to be Rs. 4,800/- and applying the multiplier of 10, came to the conclusion that the amount of compensation should be Rs. 48,000/ -. ( 10 ) THE relief in regard to the payment of interest as claimed was also granted which was made payable from the date of the application till the realization of the amount. ( 11 ) THIS appeal was initially valued at Rs. 4,50,000/- but later on the appellants moved an application reducing their claim to Rupees one hundred thousand only and prayed for amendment in the memorandum of appeal. This application was allowed by a Division Bench of this Court vide the order dated 8-1-1998, and the appeal is now valued at Rupees one hundred thousand only. In the application for amendment, the appellants have clearly indicated that after due consideration, they have reduced their claim from Rs. 4,50,000/- to Rs. 1,00,000/ -. This application was allowed by a Division Bench of this Court vide the order dated 8-1-1998, and the appeal is now valued at Rupees one hundred thousand only. In the application for amendment, the appellants have clearly indicated that after due consideration, they have reduced their claim from Rs. 4,50,000/- to Rs. 1,00,000/ -. ( 12 ) THE appellants had examined Chanda Yadav, the mother of the deceased and Sujan Pal Singh, the father of the deceased as well as Habib, Dr. V. K. Dewan and Mohan Prasad Mudgal. ( 13 ) HABIB, Dr. V. K. Dewan and Mohan Prasad Mudgal had not stated anything which could have any effect on the question relating to the quantum of compensation. ( 14 ) THE mother of the deceased, Chanda Yadav had stated that her minor deceased-son, Monu had passed out V Class in First Division and he was healthy and good in education. She further stated that she suffered a shock on account of the death of her son and her health had deteriorated. ( 15 ) THE father of the deceased, Sujan Pal Singh had stated that his minor son had appeared in the primary examination of V Class in the year 1988, as a student of V. S. K. School, Gwalior, and had passed the said examination securing 73% marks. A certificate to this effect was issued by the District Education Officer, Gwalior. ( 16 ) ON the strength of the aforesaid oral and documentary evidence, the parents now claimed an award of Rupees one hundred thousand only as compensation on account of the death of Monu, their deceased-minor son. ( 17 ) IT has been strenuously urged that the deceased-son of the claimants-appellants was a brilliant student and the amount of compensation awarded by the Tribunal is too meagre to compensate the loss suffered by the parents. It has been pointed out that as is apparent from the statement of the father of the deceased he intended to get his son enter the Indian Administrative Service. He had further stated that he had suffered a shock resulting in ill-health on account of the death of his precocious son who got First Division in Class V, and the health of his wife had also deteriorated. He had further stated that he had suffered a shock resulting in ill-health on account of the death of his precocious son who got First Division in Class V, and the health of his wife had also deteriorated. ( 18 ) THE learned counsel for the respondent, however, has asserted that the statement of the father of the deceased only reflected a wishful thinking which could not be made a ground for justifying enhancement of the amount of compensation awarded by the Tribunal, which was found to be just and proper, especially when as observed by the Tribunal no evidence worth the name had been produced by the appellants to show the family background and other relevant circumstances which could give an indication of the prospects of the child who was only 10 years of age at the time of death. It has been urged that in the circumstances, no interference by this Court is called for. ( 19 ) IN determining the compensation in case of the death of a child, the family background, the academic and other activities and the expectancy of the parents from the child have to be taken into consideration. The loss suffered by the parents due to sudden demise of their child, cannot be calculated in terms of money. The parents of the child remain in trauma throughout their life. This cannot be compensated in any manner except by monetary compensation which has to be just and fair. ( 20 ) IT should be noted at this stage that it is not necessary that a claim may succeed under the Motor Vehicles Act only if the deceased is shown to have been earning money or contributing to the support of the claimants at or before the date of death provided that the claimants had a reasonable expectation of service or pecuniary benefit from the continuance of life of the deceased. It all depends on the facts and circumstances of each case. If there is a reasonable prospect of pecuniary benefit from the deceased for support of the family in the near future the same can be taken into account. It all depends on the facts and circumstances of each case. If there is a reasonable prospect of pecuniary benefit from the deceased for support of the family in the near future the same can be taken into account. However, as a general rule parents are entitled to recover the present cash value of the prospective service and pecuniary benefits of the deceased but when the prospect is very uncertain and the nature and quality of assistance is also uncertain, the Court must exclude all considerations of matter which rest in speculation of fancy though conjecture to some extent is inevitable. ( 21 ) ONE cannot be oblivious of the uncertainties of life and the inscrutable future. How the minor child would have turned out in later life is at best a guess only. Nothing has come on the record to indicate that his parents were well-placed in life and could afford him a good education helping him thereby to further his prospects in life, which in turn would have enabled him to provide them financial assistance when the need arose. ( 22 ) REALLY no amount of money can compensate the injured feelings of the parents and can compensate them for what they had lost in Monu, but when we come to calculate the loss in terms of money it is pecuniary loss alone which can be recoverable apart from general damages which can be awarded in the case for pain and suffering alone. The Court has to confine to the "hard matter of rupees and paisa which tinkle well, but mingle ill such sentiments. " It should not be lost sight of that the justice should be administered as per law. When a claimant comes to the Court of law to realise compensation in such cases, the Court has to rise above sentimentalities, and try to compensate the claimant not for his injured feelings but for his financial loss real and probable. ( 23 ) THE Apex Court in its decision in the case of C. K. Subramonia Iyer v. T. Kunhikuttan Nair, reported in AIR 1970 SC 376 , where the parents had claimed compensation of Rs. 30,000 held that an amount of Rs. ( 23 ) THE Apex Court in its decision in the case of C. K. Subramonia Iyer v. T. Kunhikuttan Nair, reported in AIR 1970 SC 376 , where the parents had claimed compensation of Rs. 30,000 held that an amount of Rs. 6,000/- towards compensation was adequate in the case of the death of their minor son aged 8 years as the parents could not bring on record enough material to establish the relevant facts, which could indicate the extent of monetary benefit they would have got in the event the child had survived. ( 24 ) A Division Bench of this Court in its decision in the case of Rukmani Devi v. Basantilal, reported in 1984 ACJ 548, had awarded to the mother a sum of Rs. 25,000/- on account of the death of a person who was a law graduate and had recently started practice as an advocate. ( 25 ) THE word "compensation" means anything given to make things equivalent, a thing given to or make amends for loss, recompense, remuneration or pay. ( 26 ) THE expression "compensation" is a more comprehensive term and the claim for compensat-ion includes a claim for damages. There is a distinction between compensation to be awarded and a claim for damages being granted. Damages are given for an injury suffered. Compensation is by way of atonement for the injury caused with intent to put either the injured party or those who may suffer on account of the injury in a position as if the injury was not caused by making pecuniary atonement. ( 27 ) IN the present case in the absence of any evidence worth the name to indicate the family background of the deceased-Monu and the lack of evidence to show that the capacity of the parents and provision which could be made by the parents to render the necessary assistance to the deceased for attaining the object which the father had in mind, no justifiable ground can be said to have been made out for the award at the enhanced rate as claimed. ( 28 ) IN fact, it seems to me that taking into consideration the decision of the Apex Court and the decision of this Court referred to herein- above, and the facts and circumstances brought on record, and further the overall escalation in the prices, etc. ( 28 ) IN fact, it seems to me that taking into consideration the decision of the Apex Court and the decision of this Court referred to herein- above, and the facts and circumstances brought on record, and further the overall escalation in the prices, etc. , with the reduction of the purchasing power of the rupee, the amount of compensation awarded by the Tribunal does not appear to be unjust so as to warrant an interference in this appeal. ( 29 ) IN the result this appeal fails and is hereby dismissed. ( 30 ) THERE shall, however, be no order as to cost. Appeal dismissed. .