Rani Devi Alias Rani v. Dayanand And Others

IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT

CHANDIGARH Date of Decision : 02.09.2025 RANI DEVI @ RANI AND ORS .... Appellants

VERSUS

DAYANAND AND ORS .... Respondents CORAM : HON'BLE MRS. JUSTICE ALKA SARIN Present :

Mr. Sagar Aggarwal, Advocate for the appellants.

Mr. Nigam K. Bhardwaj, Advocate for respondent No.3.

ALKA SARIN, J. (ORAL) The present appeal has been preferred by the claimant-appellants aggrieved by the quantum of compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Karnal (hereinafter referred to as the 'Tribunal') vide award dated 02.04.2022.

Since the factum of the accident is not in dispute, the facts, as recorded in the impugned award passed by the Tribunal, are not being adverted to herein for the sake of brevity.

The Tribunal in the present case had awarded the following compensation :

-2Sr. No.

Heads Compensation Awarded Monthly income ₹13,915 Deduction 1/4th [₹13,915 - ₹3,478] = ₹10,437 Annual income [₹10,437 x 12] = ₹1,25,244 4.

Multiplier of '7'

[₹1,25,244 x 7] = ₹8,76,708 Funeral expenses ₹15,000 Loss of estate ₹15,000 Loss of consortium ₹40,000 Medical expenses ₹2,36,610 Total Compensation ₹11,83,318 Interest @ 7% per annum 4.

Learned counsel for the claimant-appellants would contend that the deceased in the present case was above 60 years of age at the time of accident and the Tribunal had assessed his income as ₹13,915 which the claimant-appellants do not challenge. Learned counsel would further contend that the claimant-appellants also do not challenge the deduction to the extent of 1/4th, the multiplier of 7 as applied and the amount of ₹2,36,610 awarded towards medical expenses by the Tribunal. Learned counsel, however, contends that the amounts awarded under the conventional heads i.e. loss of estate and funeral expenses and under the head loss of consortium are not in consonance with the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the cases of National Insurance Company Ltd. vs. Pranay Sethi & Ors. [(2017) 16 SCC 680], Magma General Insurance Company Limited vs. Nanu Ram alias Chuhru Ram & Ors. [(2018) 18 SCC 130] and N. Jayasree & Ors. vs. Cholamandalam M.S General Insurance Company Ltd. [2021(4) RCR (Civil) 642].

-3Per contra, the learned counsel for respondent No.3-Insurance Company has vehemently argued that sufficient amount had already been awarded as compensation in the present case and that there is no scope of any enhancement.

Heard.

In the present case, admittedly, no appeal has been preferred by respondent No.3-Insurance Company. Since there is no challenge to the income of the deceased as assessed, the deduction of 1/4th, the multiplier of 7 as applied and the amounts of ₹2,36,610 awarded towards medical expenses by the Tribunal, the same are maintained. The amounts awarded under the conventional heads i.e. loss of estate and funeral expenses are not in consonance with the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the cases of Pranay Sethi (supra), Magma General Insurance Company Limited (supra) and N. Jayasree (supra). Accordingly, the claimant-appellants would be entitled to ₹18,000 (₹15,000 + 20% increase) towards loss of estate and ₹18,000 (₹15,000 + 20% increase) towards funeral expenses. As per the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case Magma General Insurance Company Limited (supra), the claimant-appellants, being widow and children of the deceased, would be entitled to compensation under the head loss of consortium i.e. spousal and parental consortium to the tune of ₹48,000 each.

Accordingly, the reworked compensation to which the claimantappellants are entitled to is as under :

-4Sr. No.

Heads Compensation Awarded Monthly income ₹13,915 Deduction 1/4th [₹13,915 - ₹3,478] = ₹10,437 Annual income [₹10,437 x 12] = ₹1,25,244 4.

Multiplier of '7'

[₹1,25,244 x 7] = ₹8,76,708 Funeral expenses ₹18,000 Loss of estate ₹18,000 Loss of consortium (i) Spousal (ii) Parental ₹48,000 [₹48,000 x 3] = ₹1,44,000 Total = ₹1,92,000 Medical expenses ₹2,36,610 Total Compensation ₹13,41,318 9.

The amount in excess of and over and above the amount awarded by the Tribunal shall also attract interest @ 7.5% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till the realization of the entire amount. 10.

In view of the decision by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Parminder Singh vs. Honey Goyal & Ors. [AIR 2025 SC 1713], after calculation of the enhanced amount, the same be transferred by respondent No.3-Insurance Company in the bank account of the claimant-appellants within a period of six weeks from today. The particulars of the bank account along with the requisite documents in support thereof shall be furnished by the claimant-appellants to respondent No.3-Insurance company within a period of two weeks from today and needful shall be done by respondent No.3-Insurance Company after verification thereof within a period of four weeks thereafter along with up-to-date interest. The compliance shall be reported by the Bank to the Tribunal concerned. 11.

In view of the above discussion, the present appeal is allowed

-5and the award passed by the Tribunal is modified accordingly. Pending applications, if any, also stand disposed off. 02.09.2025 (ALKA SARIN) Aman Jain JUDGE NOTE:

Whether speaking/non-speaking: Speaking Whether reportable: Yes/No