SWARAN KAUR & ORS V. UNION OF INDIA & ORS

FAO/819/1998

AI Insights

The case involves two appeals, FAO No. 819 of 1998 and FAO No. 1091 of 1998, heard together by the High Court of Punjab & Haryana. FAO No. 819 of 1998 was filed by the family of a deceased auto rickshaw driver seeking enhancement of compensation for his death, while FAO No. 1091 of 1998 was filed by the Union of India, presumably contesting aspects related to the same incident. The deceased was an income tax assessee, and his family claimed compensation based on his income and contributions to the family. The tribunal's initial assessment of the compensation was contested, leading to the appeal. The High Court's decision involved a re-evaluation of the deceased's income and additional compensation for non-economic losses such as loss of consortium and affection.

• Counselvise Citation: [2014] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 734902 (HC-CHANDIGARH)
• Appeal Type: Others
• Pronouncement Date: 06-03-2014
• Assessment Year: misc
• Result in Favour of: Others
• Court: HIGH COURT
• Assessee Lawyers: PRATEEK MAHAJAN
• Keywords: Compensation Enhancement; Income tax assessee; Multiplier method; Fatal accident; Loss of dependence

Judgement Text

"FAO No. 819 of 1998 FAO No. 1091 of 1998 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA, CHANDIGARH FAO No. 819 of 1998 Date of decision March 6, 2014 Swaran Kaur and others ....... Appellants Versus Union of India and others ........ Respondents FAO No. 1091 of 1998 Union of India ....... Appellant Versus Swaran Kaur and others ........ Respondents CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN Present:- Mr. Prateek Mahajan, Advocate for the appellants in FAO No.819 and for the respondents in FAO No.1091 of 1998. None for the respondents in FAO No.819 and for the appellants in FAO No.1091 of 1998 **** 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2. To be referred to the reporters or not? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the digest? K. Kannan, J (oral). 1. The appeal FAO No. 819 of 1998 is for enhancement of compensation for death of a male aged 43 years. The claimants were widow, three sons and two daughters of whom two sons were minors. The deceased was said to be a owner of an Archana arora 2014.03.07 16:25 I am the author of this document FAO No. 819 of 1998 FAO No. 1091 of 1998 Auto rickshaw and was also engaged in running dhaba. He was an income tax assessee. The copy of returns filed showed that he had earned `52,220/-yearly. The court rejected this evidence since no official from income tax department was examined. I reject the reasoning and take the document as affording sufficient proof of his income status, make a provision for increase by 30% and apply a multiplier of 14 to assess the loss of dependence. I will make a provision for loss of consortium at `1 lac and loss of love and affection for two minor children at `2 lacs. The various heads of claim are tabulated as under:- Fatal accidents Date of accident 19.2.914 Age 36 Occupation Auto rickshaw Claimants: Widow, 3 sons, 2 daughters S.No. Heads of claim Tribunal High Court (Amount Rs.) Amount (Rs.) 1 Income 52220/- 52220/- 2 Add, % of increase 30%/50% 67886/- 3 Deduction 1/4th 4 Multiplicand 50914.5 5 Multiplier 14 6 Loss of dependence 7,12,802/- 7 Medical expenses 8 Loss of consortium+ loss of love and affection for children 3,00,000/- 9 Loss to estate 2500/- 10 Funeral expenses 5000/- 11 Total 10,20,303/- The total compensation payable shall be `10,20,303/-rounded off to `10,20,300/-. The amount in excess of what has already been FAO No. 819 of 1998 FAO No. 1091 of 1998 granted by the Tribunal shall attract interest at the rate of 7.5% per annum from the date of petition till the date of payment. The enhanced amount shall be distributed equally amongst all the claimants. The liability shall be on the Union of India. 2. The award stands modified and the appeal by the claimant FAI No. 819 of 1998 is allowed. 3. There is no representation for the appellants in FAO No. 1091 of 1998. The appeal is dismissed for default of appearance and non-prosecution. (K. KANNAN) JUDGE March 6, 2014 archana "