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2003 DIGILAW 1448 (AP)

Boddu Chandra Mouli v. A. P. S. R. T. C

2003-11-24

B.S.A.SWAMY

body2003
( 1 ) CLAIMANT is the appellant before this court. Having not satisfied with the compensation of Rs. 45,000/- awarded by the Tribunal, he filed this appeal. ( 2 ) THE case of the appellant that he is aged about 33 years and he is earning about rs. 2,500/- per month by selling fruits and vegetables in Karimnagar Town. On 15-2-1998 he along with others were going to warangal in a private jeep, when the Jeep got down the hills of Anjaneya Swamy Temple and reached Kondagattu bus stage at about 8-30 A. M. , one RTC bus bearing registration no. AP10z 3806 came in opposite direction driven in a rash and negligent manner by its driver dashed the jeep, as a result of which, the jeep was damaged and got pressed and the driver and other occupants of the Jeep died on the spot. As far as the claimant is concerned, he sustained compound fracture of right hand, apart from receiving bleeding injuries on the right eye-brow, right and left shoulders on the left side of the neck, as per Ex. A-4 wound certificate issued by dr. C. Raghuram, who has given first-aid treatment at Jagityal. It is also his case that he was shifted to M. G. M. Hospital, Warangal for better treatment and he was in the hospital as inmate from 16-02-1998 till 02-03-1998. But the injuries and fractures were not united and the right hand became feeble and useless, apart from his fingers not functioning. But there is no evidence to show that his cervical spine was affected. As per Ex. A-39, the disability certificate issued by the Regional medical Board, the permanent disability was estimated at 80%. He also claimed that he spent about Rs. 40,000/ -. It is also his case that he was admitted to NIMS hospital and osmania General hospital for better treatment but in vain. Stating so, he filed the petition claiming compensation of rs. l,00,000/ -. The Tribunal, having recorded a finding that the accident took place because of the rash and negligent driving of the bus by the driver, awarded compensation of rs. 45,000/- in all (transport Rs. 1,000/-, medical expenses Rs. 10,000/-, pain and suffering Rs. 5,000/-, permanent disability rs. 25,000/- and loss of earning Rs. 4,000/-) with interest at 12% from the date of petition till the date of realisation. 45,000/- in all (transport Rs. 1,000/-, medical expenses Rs. 10,000/-, pain and suffering Rs. 5,000/-, permanent disability rs. 25,000/- and loss of earning Rs. 4,000/-) with interest at 12% from the date of petition till the date of realisation. ( 3 ) HAVING not satisfied with the compensation awarded, the claimant filed this appeal. Since, the accident had taken place on 15-02-1998, after introduction of section 163-A along with Second Schedule in the Motor Vehicles Act. Supreme Court held that even in cases filed under Section 166 of motor Vehicles Act, compensation has to be worked out as per the Second Schedule of the Act. Keeping the judgment of the Apex court in mind, if we see at the order of the tribunal, I have no option except to hold that the Tribunal awarded compensation without reference to the law of the land and is quite contrary thereto. The case of the claimant is that he is earning Rs. 2,500/- per month by the sale of fruits and vegetables. The Tribunal did not bother to go into the aspect of the earning of the claimant while awarding compensation, even if the claimant failed to produce any evidence to show that he is earning Rs. 2,500/- per month under note 6 to the table. In case of non-earning persons, the annual income should be fixed at rs. 15,000/- per annum. Even if we take rs. 15,000/- as annual income of the claimant, note 5 speaks of the compensation payable in case of permanent/partial disabilities, shown as under: disability in non-fatal accidents: the following compensation shall be payable in case of disability to the victim arising out of non-fatal accidents: loss of income, if any for actual period of disablement not exceeding 52 weeks. PLUS either of the following: (a) In case of permanent total disablement, the amount payable shall be arrived at by multiplying the annual loss of income by the multiplier applicable to the age on the date of determining the compensation, or (b) In case of permanent partial disablement such percentage of compensation which would have been payable in the case of permanent total disablement as satisfied under item (a) above. Injuries deemed to result in permanent total disablement/permanent partial disablement and percentage of loss or earning capacity shall be as per schedule-I under Workmen s compensation Act, 1923. Injuries deemed to result in permanent total disablement/permanent partial disablement and percentage of loss or earning capacity shall be as per schedule-I under Workmen s compensation Act, 1923. ( 4 ) FROM the above, it is seen, in case of permanent disability, the loss of income should be the actual earning for the period of disablement not exceeding 52 weeks and further percentage of compensation for the rest of the life has to be worked out by multiplying the annual loss of income with the multiplier applicable to the age on the date of determination of the compensation. Under the table, the proper multiplier for the age group of the persons between 30 to 35 years is 17. So, the proportionate compensation by applying the multiplier to the annual income of Rs. 15,000/-, the compensation payable works out to rs. 1,24,000/-, since the disability estimated by Regional Medical Board was at 80%. In other respects, the award of the court below does not call for any interference by this court. Accordingly, the compensation payable towards permanent disability is fixed at Rs. 1,24,000/- by modifying the compensation given by the Tribunal i. e. , rs. 25,000/ -. In all, the compensation payable under various head works out to rs. l,44,000/-as per theawardof the Tribunal under other heads. Since the claimant claimed compensation of only Rs. 1,00,000/-, the compensation payable to the claimant is limited at Rs. 1,00,000/- under all heads. As far as the interest is concerned, following the judgment of the Apex Court, the rate of interest awarded by the Tribunal is modified and it is fixed at 9% per annum. The interest is payable from the date of petition till the date of realisation. ( 5 ) ACCORDINGLY, the appeal is allowed and the order under appeal is modified to the extent indicated above.