Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:116802 Court No. - 36 Case :- FIRST APPEAL FROM ORDER No. - 1481 of 2005 Appellant :- Smt. Sarla Devi And Others Respondent :- Mannu Lal Jaiswal And Another Counsel for Appellant :- A.K. Singh Hon'ble Shekhar Kumar Yadav,J. 1. Heard Sri Pranshu Gupta, learned counsel for the appellants, Sri Arun Kumar Shukla, learned counsel for The New India Insurance Company and perused the impugned judgment and award. 2. By way of the present appeal, the appellant-claimants, who are the legal heirs of the deceased, seek enhancement of the compensation awarded by the learned Additional District Judge/Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Court No. 19, Allahabad (hereinafter referred to as "the Tribunal") vide judgment and award dated 11.02.2005 passed in Claim Petition No. 809 of 2000. 3. The factum of the accident having occurred on 25.04.1999 resulting in the death of the deceased is not in dispute. The claimants have challenged the quantum of compensation awarded, contending that it is inadequate. It has been urged that the deceased was 25 years of age at the time of the accident and was earning Rs. 5,000/- per month as a skilled labourer in a garage. However, the Tribunal, without any cogent basis and ignoring the nature of his work, assessed his monthly income at Rs. 2,600/- only, and applied an incorrect multiplier. 4. It is further submitted that the Tribunal has awarded a meagre amount under the non-pecuniary heads. No amount has been awarded towards loss of consortium despite the deceased being survived by a widow, two minor daughters and an aged father. 5. Per contra, learned counsel for the Insurance Company has supported the award passed by the Tribunal, submitting that the compensation awarded is just and proper. 6. The record reflects that the deceased, while working under a truck in a garage, died due to the falling of heavy articles upon him. Considering that he was a skilled labourer, and although no documentary evidence of income has been produced, a notional income can be assessed based on the nature of his work. In the facts and circumstances, this Court finds it appropriate to assess the notional monthly income of the deceased at Rs. 3,000/-. 7. In view of the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi & Others, (2017) 16 SCC 680, an addition of 40% towards future prospects is warranted as the deceased was under 40 years of age and was self- employed/skilled. Thus, the income is to be enhanced to Rs. 4,200/- per month (i.e., Rs. 3,000 + Rs. 1,200). After deducting one-third towards personal expenses (as per Sarla Verma v. DTC, (2009) 6 SCC 121), the monthly loss of dependency comes to Rs. 2,800/-. As the deceased was between 25 and 30 years of age, the multiplier applicable would be 17, as held in Sarla Verma (supra). Accordingly, the compensation under the head of loss of dependency is computed as under: ₹2,800 x 12 x 17 = 5,71,200/- ₹ In addition to the above, the appellants shall be entitled to compensation under the conventional heads as laid down in Pranay Sethi (supra), namely: Loss of Estate: 15,000/- ₹ Loss of Consortium: 40,000/- ₹ Funeral Expenses: 15,000/- ₹ Thus, total compensation is accordingly computed as follows: Loss of Dependency: Rs 5,71,200/- Non-pecuniary Damages (As above) Rs. 70,000/- Total: Rs, 6,41,200/- 8. The appellants shall be entitled to interest at the rate of 7% per annum on the enhanced amount, from the date of the accident till the date of actual payment. The amount already deposited by the Insurance Company shall be adjusted from the amount now awarded. 9. No other point was urged at the time of hearing. 10. In view of the above discussion, the appeal succeeds in part and is accordingly partly allowed. The judgment and award passed by the Tribunal are modified to the extent indicated above. The respondent-Insurance Company shall deposit the enhanced compensation amount, along with interest as directed, within a period of 12 weeks from today. The amount already deposited, if any, shall be duly adjusted. Order Date :- 18.7.2025 Ajeet/RavindraKSingh Digitally signed by :- AJEET KUMAR PATEL High Court of Judicature at Allahabad