JUDGMENT : Mansoor Ahmad Mir, J. Both these appeals are outcome of a common award dated 17th February, 2010, passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (III) Shimla, H.P., hereinafter referred to as ‘the Tribunal’), in M.A.C. Petition No. 38-S/2 of 05/2002, titled Smt. Prabha & others versus Parveen Kumar & others, filed by the claimants for grant of compensation to the tune of Rs. 40.00 lacs, as per the breakups given in the claim petition, whereby the compensation to the tune of Rs. 23,13,000/- came to be awarded in favour of the claimants and the insurer was saddled with liability, for short ‘the impugned award’. 2. The owner and driver have not questioned the impugned award, on any count. Thus, it has attained finality, so far it relates to them. 3. The insurer and claimants have questioned the impugned award on the ground of adequacy of compensation. Thus, the only question to be determined in these appeals is-the amount of compensation is adequate or otherwise? I am of the considered view that the amount of compensation is inadequate for the following reasons. 4. Admittedly, the age of the deceased was 46 years at the time of accident, thus, the Tribunal has rightly applied the multiplier of ‘13’, is accordingly upheld. 5. The deceased was an employee. The claimants have placed on record his salary certificate Ext. PW-6/A, which does disclose that the last pay drawn by the deceased was Rs. 22,547/-, approximately Rs. 22,600/-. 6. The Tribunal has fallen in an error in deducting 1/3rd instead of 1/4th towards the personal expenses of the deceased, in view of the fact that the claimants are four in number read with the ratio laid down by the Apex Court in Sarla Verma (Smt.) and others versus Delhi Transport Corporation and another, reported in AIR 2009 SC 3104 , upheld by a larger Bench of the Apex Court in a case titled as Reshma Kumari & others versus Madan Mohan and another, reported in 2013 AIR (SCW) 3120 read with the judgment rendered by the Apex Court in case titled as Munna Lal Jain & another versus Vipin Kumar Sharma & others, reported in 2015 AIR SCW 3105. 7. In view of the ratio laid down by the apex Court in the cases, supra, It is held that the claimants have lost source of dependency to the tune of Rs.16,950/-, i.e. Rs. 7. In view of the ratio laid down by the apex Court in the cases, supra, It is held that the claimants have lost source of dependency to the tune of Rs.16,950/-, i.e. Rs. 17,000/- per month. Accordingly, the claimants are held entitled to the tune of Rs. 17,000/- x 12 = Rs. 2,04,000 x 13 = Rs. 26,52,000/- under the head ‘loss of dependency’. 8. Keeping in view the recent judgments of the Apex Court, a sum of Rs.10,000/- each, is also awarded under the heads ‘loss of love and affection’, ‘loss of consortium’, ‘loss of estate’ and ‘funeral expenses’ in favour of the claimants. 9. The Tribunal has awarded interest @ 9% per annum from the date of filing of the award, is on the higher side. 10. It is a beaten law of the land that the rate of interest should be awarded as per the prevailing rates, in view of the judgments rendered by the Apex Court in cases titled as United India Insurance Co. Ltd. and others versus Patricia Jean Mahajan and others, reported in (2002) 6 SCC 281 ; Satosh Devi versus National Insurance Company Ltd. and others, reported in 2012 AIR SCW 2892; Amrit Bhanu Shali and others versus National Insurance Company Limited and others reported in (2012) 11 SCC 738 ; Smt. Savita versus Binder Singh & others, reported in 2014 AIR SCW 2053; Kalpanaraj & others versus Tamil Nadu State Transport Corpn., reported in 2014 AIR SCW 2982; Amresh Kumari versus Niranjan Lal Jagdish Pd. Jain and others, reported in (2015) 4 SCC 433 , and Mohinder Kaur and others versus Hira Nand Sindhi (Ghoriwala) and another, reported in (2015) 4 SCC 434 , and discussed by this Court in a batch of FAOs, FAO No. 256 of 2010, titled as Oriental Insurance Company versus Smt. Indiro and others, being the lead case, decided on 19.06.2015. 11. Having said so, I deem it proper to reduce the rate of interest from 9% per annum to 7.5% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till its realization. 12. Viewed thus, it is held that the claimants are entitled to compensation to the tune of Rs. 26,52,000/- + Rs. 40,000/- total amounting to Rs. 26,92,000/- with interest @ 7.5% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till realization. 13. 12. Viewed thus, it is held that the claimants are entitled to compensation to the tune of Rs. 26,52,000/- + Rs. 40,000/- total amounting to Rs. 26,92,000/- with interest @ 7.5% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till realization. 13. The amount of compensation is enhanced and the impugned award is modified, as indicated above. 14. The insurer is directed to deposit the enhanced amount alongwith interest, within a period of eight weeks from today before the Registry. On deposit, the Registry is directed to release the entire amount in favour of the claimants, strictly in terms of conditions contained in the impugned award, through payees account cheque or by depositing the same in their accounts. 15. Send down the records after placing copies of the judgment on both the files of the Tribunal. 16. The appeals are accordingly disposed of.