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2009 DIGILAW 140 (CAL)

National Insurance Company Ltd. v. Maya Roy

2009-02-23

BHASKAR BHATTACHARYA, TAPAN KUMAR DUTT

body2009
Judgment : BHASKAR BHATTACHARYA, J. (1) This appeal is at the instance of a claimant in a proceeding under Section 163A of the Motor Vehicles Act and is directed against an award dated 6th July, 2006 passed by the Motor Accident Claim Tribunal, Fourth Court, Burdwan in M.A.C. Case No.54 of 2006 thereby disposing of the said proceeding by awarding a sum of Rs.2,25,000/-as compensation. The Insurance Company was directed to pay the amount within 60 (sixty) days from the date of award with a stipulation that in default of payment within the said period, the award should carry interest at the rate of 9% per annum from the date of default till realization. (2) Being dissatisfied, the Insurance Company has come up with the present appeal. There is no dispute as regards the involvement of the offending vehicle in the accident resulting in the death of the victim and the fact that the offending vehicle was insured by the National Insurance Company. It is also not in dispute that the victim was aged 15 years at the time of his death. The Tribunal below, as indicated earlier, awarded a sum of Rs.2,25,000/- as compensation. (3) The only point taken by the learned advocate appearing on behalf of the appellant in this appeal is that while applying the multiplier of 15 on the notional income of Rs.15,000/- per annum, the learned Tribunal below failed to deduct one-third of the annual income as the personal expenses of the victim. According to him, the Tribunal below should have by deducting one-third of the notional annual income and applying the multiplier of 15 arrived at the figure of Rs.1,54,500/-in accordance with the second schedule of the Act. (4) After hearing the learned counsel for the parties and after going through the materials on record, we find that although the mother of the victim was aged 38 years, the victim being aged 15 years, the applicable multiplier should be 15 and, thus, by applying the Second Schedule of the Motor Vehicles Act, the Tribunal ought to have awarded a sum of Rs.1,54,500/- as compensation. The Tribunal below should have also awarded interest at the rate of 8% per annum from the date of filing of such application till actual date of payment. The Tribunal below should have also awarded interest at the rate of 8% per annum from the date of filing of such application till actual date of payment. We, therefore, set aside the award impugned and reduce the same to Rs.1,54,500/- and award interest at the rate of 8% per annum from the date of filing of the application till actual deposit. We are told that the Insurance Company has deposited a sum of Rs.1,54,500/-before the Tribunal below and has also deposited a further sum of Rs.70,500/- with the learned Registrar General of this Court pursuant to the interim order granted by this Court in addition to the statutory deposit of Rs. 25,000/-while preferring the present appeal. (5) On deposit of the awarded amount passed by this order before the Tribunal afresh, the Insurance Company will be free to withdraw the amount deposited before the Tribunal and this Court as statutory deposit as also the other security-deposit, as indicated earlier. (6) The appeal is, thus, allowed to the extent indicated above. In the facts and circumstances, there will be, however, no order as to costs.