2025:CGHC:43404 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH, BILASPUR M.A.(C) No. 469 2021 1 - Smt. Mukti Dhritlahre, W/o Late Jitendra Dhritlahre, aged about 35 Years, R/o Through Hemant Gayakwad, Advocate Village Mandir Hasaud Post Balaji Colony, District Raipur Chhattisgarh Other Address Block Colony Dharsiwa Raipur Permanent R/o Village Hardi P. S. Pithoura District Mahadamund Chhattisgarh 2 - Ayush Dev, S/o Late Jitendra Dhritlahre, aged about 9 Years Appellant No. 02, Is Minor Through Natural Guardian Mother Smt. Mukti Dhritlahre, R/o Through Hemant Gayakwad, Advocate Village Mandir Hasaud Post Balaji Colony, District Raipur Chhattisgarh Other Address Block Colony Dharsiwa Raipur Permanent R/o Village Hardi P. S. Pithoura District Mahadamund Chhattisgarh 3 – Shivam, S/o Late Jitendra Dhritlahre, aged about 3 Years Appellant No. 03, Is Minor Through Natural Guardian Mother Smt. Mukti Dhritlahre, R/o Through Hemant Gayakwad, Advocate Village Mandir Hasaud Post Balaji Colony, District Raipur Chhattisgarh Other Address Block Colony Dharsiwa Raipur Permanent R/o Village Hardi P. S. Pithoura District Mahasamund Chhattisgarh 4 - Smt. Budhiyarin Bai, Wd/o Late Heera Singh Dhritlahre, aged about 65 Years, R/o Through Hemant Gayakwad, Advocate Village Mandir Hasaud Post Balaji Colony, District Raipur Chhattisgarh Other Address Block Colony Dharsiwa Raipur Permanent R/o Village Hardi P. S. Pithoura District Mahadamund Chhattisgarh ----Appellants Versus 1 - Pradeep Kumar, S/o Bharat Dehure, R/o Village Champatimuda, P. S. Bantala, District Angul Odisha Through Smt. Shashi Baksi W/o Rajendra Baksi C/o Sandeep Bakashi K. Jalam Lane Khetrajpur, Sambalpur Odisha .....(Driver Of The Offending Vehicle Truck Bearing Registration No. 15-C-0530) 2 - Smt. Shashi Baksi, W/o Rajendra Baksi, C/o Sandeep Bakashi K Jalam Lane Khetrajpur, Sambalpur Odisha .....(Owner Of The Offending Vehicle Truck Bearing Registration No. 15-C-0530) ASHISH TIWARI Digitally signed by ASHISH TIWARI Date: 2025.09.07 15:17:20 +0530 -2- 3 - The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. Through Division Manager The Oriental Insurance Company Ltd. Madina Building Jail Road, Raipur Chhattisgarh .....(Insurer Of The Offending Vehicle Truck Bearing Registration No. 15-C-0530) --- Respondents Cause Title is taken from CIS system __________________________________________________________________ For Appellants : Shri Pawan Kashyap, Advocate. For Respondent No.3 : Smt. Swati Agrawal, Advocate appeared on behalf of Shri Pankaj Agrawal, Advocate. ___________________________________________________________________ Hon'ble Shri Justice Sachin Singh Rajput Order on Board 26 /08/2025 1. This appeal under Section 173 of Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short ‘MV Act’) has been filed by the appellants / claimants, being aggrieved by the award dated 05/02/2021 passed by Chief Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (for short ‘Tribunal’), Raipur (C.G.) in Claim Case No. - 624/ 2018. 2. By the impugned award, against a claim of Rs.94,00,000/- the learned Tribunal has awarded Rs.19,71,250/- as compensation in favour of the appellants / claimants on account of death of deceased – Jitendra Dhritlahre in an accident that occurred on 05/05/2018 by rash and negligent driving of the offending vehicle Truck bearing registration No. OD-15-C-0530 by respondent No. 1 / driver, owned by respondent No.2 / owner, insured with respondent No.3 / Insurance Company. 3. As per pleadings of the claim application filed under section 166 of the MV Act, deceased was working as Assistant Professor in a College and was earning Rs.30,000/- per month. 4. The claim application was resisted by the respondents on various grounds including respondent No. 3 / Insurance Company taking a plea that the driver of the offending vehicle was not having valid and effective driving license, there is -3- violation of the terms and conditions of the Insurance Policy. Hence, the Insurance company may be exonerated. 5. On the basis of above pleadings, the learned Tribunal framed as many as four issues and decided the same in favour of the appellants / claimants and awarded the above stated compensation. 6. Learned counsel for the appellants / claimants argued that the learned Tribunal committed an error in holding the monthly salary of the deceased to Rs.13,000/- only whereas the salary was received by him working as Assistant Professor. Apart from this from the oral evidence it is quite apparent that he was also was imparting tuition in coaching class and was also earning extra income from that source. Therefore, the income which has been assessed by the learned Tribunal is required to be enhance. Apart from this, he submits that the compensation on all other head is on the lower side which requires suitable enhancement. 7. Learned counsel for respondents No.3 supports the impugned award and submit as income certificated submitted by the appellants/claimants which has already been believed by the learned Tribunal and barring the oral statement, no other admissible evidence available to justified the additional income as claimed by the appellants/claimants. The learned Claims Tribunal has also awarded future prospects and compensation on all other admissible head is correctly awarded, therefore, just compensation has been awarded, which does not require any interference. 8. Heard learned counsel for the parties, considered their rival submission and also perused the appended documents. 9. There is not dispute tot he fact that the deceased was working as Assistant Professor in a College and was receiving Rs.13,000/- per month salary. Apart from -4- this the evidence which is available on record is also goes to shows that he was imparting education in the coaching and tuitions extra. Off Course, the Tribunal found that the deceased was earning Rs.13,000/- per month that this Court can safely presume that a person imparting education definitely would look to extra income from other sources by imparting tuition and coaching. Apart from this Court has to see that the liability of wife, two minor sons and mother was upon the deceased for survival, therefore, this Court is inclined to add further income of Rs.2000/- per month in the income of the deceased and from the other sources. 10. Therefore, this Court is inclined to recompute the compensation in view of the decision of Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matters of Smt. Sarla Verma & Ors. Vs. Delhi Transport Corporation & Anr., (2009) 6 SCC 121, National Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Pranay Sethi, (2017) 16 SCC 680 and Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd.v. Nanu Ram @ Chuhru Ram & Ors; (2018) 18 SCC 130, the claimant is entitled for compensation in the following manner:- S.No. Head Calculation 1. Monthly Income Rs.15,000/- 2. 25% future prospect Rs.3750/- 3. Monthly Income Rs.18,750/- 4. Yearly Income Rs.2,25,000/- (18,750 X 12) 5. Income after 1/4 deduction for personal expenses Rs.1,68,750/- (225000– 56250) 6. Multiplier of 13 to be applied Rs.21,93,750/- (1,68,750 X 13 ) 7. Towards loss of estate and funeral expenses, Spousal consortium Rs.70,000/- 8. Filial consortium Rs.1,20,000/- (Rs.40,000/- each to appellant No. 2 to 4) Total compensation Rs.23,83,750/- -5- 11. Since the tribunal has already awarded Rs.19,71,250/-, after deducting the same from the above amount, the claimants are held entitled for additional compensation of Rs.4,12,500/- with interest @ 6% per annum from the date of appeal i.e.09/08/2021. The amount shall deposited by the Insurance Company within a period of 60 days from the date of copy of receipt of this order. 12. After deposit, Rs.01,00,000/- (one lakhs) each shall be invested in the name of appellant No. 2 and appellant No.3 as fixed deposit in the Nationalized Bank till they attained the age of majority and Rs.01,00,000/- (one lakhs) be disbursed to the appellant No.4. Remaining amount shall be paid to appellant No.1 by bank transaction / account payee cheque. 13. In the result, the appeal is allowed in part with modification in the award impugned to the above extent. Sd/- Sd/-/- (Sachin Singh Rajput) Judge Ashish