-1- NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MAC No. 622 of 2024 1 - Smt. Kunti Paikra Wd/o Late Shri Jageshwar Paikra, Aged About 32 Years Caste Kanwar, R/o Village Pakni, Police Outpost Chendra, P.S. Bhaiyathan, Surajpur, District Surajpur Chhattisgah. 2 - Shashikant Paikra S/o Late Shri Jageshwar Paikra, Aged About 18 Years Caste Kanwar, R/o Village Pakni, Police Outpost Chendra, P.S. Bhaiyathan, Surajpur, District Surajpur Chhattisgah. 3 - Aanchal Paikra D/o Late Shri Jageshwar Paikra Aged About 17 Years Minor Through Thier Legal Guardian Smt. Kunti Paikra Wd/o Late Shri Jageshwar Paikra (Appellant No. 1) Caste Kanwar, R/o Village Pakni, Police Outpost Chendra, P.S. Bhaiyathan, Surajpur, District Surajpur Chhattisgah. 4 - Kanchan Paikra, D/o. Late Shri Jageshwar Paikra, Aged About 9 Years Minor Through Thier Legal Guardian Smt. Kunti Paikra Wd/o Late Shri Jageshwar Paikra (Appellant No. 1) Caste Kanwar, R/o Village Pakni, Police Outpost Chendra, P.S. Bhaiyathan, Surajpur, District Surajpur Chhattisgah. 5 - Rajnath S/o Jugal, Aged About 77 Years R/o Village Pakni, Police Outpost Chendra, P.S. Bhaiyathan, Surajpur, District Surajpur Chhattisgah. 6 - Smt. Baudhi W/o Rajnath, Aged About 72 Years R/o Village Pakni, Police Outpost Chendra, P.S. Bhaiyathan, Surajpur, District Surajpur Chhattisgah. ... Appellants versus 1 - Manmohan Paikra S/o Shri Assi Ram Paikra, Aged About 38 Years Caste Kanwar, R/o Village Pakni, Police Station Bahiyathan, District Surajpur Chhattisgarh. (Non Applicant No. 1/driver) 2 - Shobhit Paikra, S/o Shri Kewala Paikra, Aged About 50 Years R/o Village Pakni, Police Station Outpost Chendra, Police Station Bahiyathan, District Surajapur Chhattisgarh. (Non Applicant No. 2/owner ) 3 - Tata A.I.G. General Insurance Company Limited, Peninshula Vijnesh Park, Tower A, 15th Floor, G.K. Road, Lower Parel, Mumbai -400013 Through Branch Manager, Branch Office Number 403, 4th Floor, D.B.C.T. Corporate Park, Plot No. 01, Block Number 09, Rajbandha Maidan, Raipur Chhattisgarh (Insurance Company -Non Applicant No. -3) ... Respondents For Appellants/Claimants : Mr. Akash Shrivastava, Advocate along with -2- Mr. Bennoon, Advocate For respondent No.3 : Mr. Sourabh Gupta, Advocate holding the brief of Mr. Sourabh Sharma, Advocate For respondents No.1 & 2 : None appears though served Hon'ble Shri Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey Order on Board 12.11.2025 1) The appellants/claimants have filed this appeal for enhancement of compensation against an award passed by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Surajpur (C.G.) in Claim Case No.108/2022 dated 19.01.2024, whereby, the learned Tribunal has granted compensation to the tune of Rs.14,95,200/- with interest @ 6% per annum on account of death of Jogeshwar Paikra. 2) Learned counsel appearing for the appellants/claimants would submit that Jageshwar Paikra met with an accident on 31.05.2022 as the offending motorcycle bearing registration No.C.G.15DM/8773 dashed the motorcycle of the deceased, resultantly, Jageshwar Paikra sustained grievous injuries and died during course of treatment. He would further submit that at the time of accident, age of the deceased was 35 years and earning Rs. 23,400/- as he was a mason. He would contend that a claim case was filed by the widow, parents and three children of the deceased, wherein, they claimed a sum of Rs.40,19,000/-. He would further contend that the learned Tribunal has assessed the monthly income of deceased Rs.7,000/- which is at lower side. He would also contend that the learned Tribunal ought to have considered the monthly income of the deceased applying minimum wages matrix. He would argue that the learned Tribunal has awarded compensation for loss of consortium to only widow of the deceased, whereas, other claimants are also -3- entitled. He would submit that the learned Tribunal has awarded interest at the rate of 6% each which is at lower side. He would pray to enhance the compensation accordingly. 3) On the other hand, the learned counsel appearing for the Insurance Company would oppose the submissions made by Mr. Shrivastava. He would submit that the claimant failed to prove the income of the deceased by leading evidence. He would further submit that the learned Tribunal has passed just and proper compensation. He would contend that the appeal deserves to be dismissed. 4) I have heard the learned counsel appearing for the parties and perused the record with utmost circumspection. 5) It is a well-settled principle of law that grant of interest on the amount of compensation is discretionary. Learned Tribunal on its discretion awarded 6% interest on the amount of compensation and I do not find any good ground to interfere with such finding and the contention made by Mr. Shrivastava is hereby rejected. 6) With regard to notional income of the deceased, learned Tribunal ought to have applied the minimum wages matrix to assess the income of the deceased in absence of evidence. 7) The minimum wages admissible to an unskilled labourer in the month of May, 2020 was Rs.9,540/- and the learned Tribunal ought to have taken that figure into account while assessing the compensation. 8) Learned Tribunal has not awarded compensation for loss of consortium to the claimants No.2 to 6 whereas they are entitled being children and parents of the deceased. -4- 9) Taking into consideration the above-discussed facts, the compensation requires recomputation and same is being revisited herein below : Sr.No. Heads Compensation awarded by Tribunal Compensation awarded by this Court 1. Income Rs.7000 x 12=84,000/- Rs.9540/-x 12 = 1,14,480/- 2. Future Prospect 40% of 84,000=33,600/- 84,000 +33,600=1,17,600 40% of 1,14,480/- =45,792/- 1,14,480/+45,792= 1,60,272/- 3. Deduction 1/4 of 1,17,600/-=29,400/- 1,17,600-29,400=88,200/- 1/4 of 1,60,272/- =40,068/- 1,60,272- 40,068=1,20,204/- 4. Multiplier 16 x Rs.88,200 Rs.14,11,200/- 16 x 1,20,204= Rs.19,23,264/- 5. Conventional head(loss of funeral + loss of Estate Rs.36,000/- Rs.36,000/- 6. Loss of Consortium(for appellant No.1) Rs.48,000/- Rs.48,000/- 7. Loss of Consortium(for appellant No.2 to 6) NIL Rs.44,000 x 5 =2,20,000/- 8. Total Rs.14,95,200/- Rs.22,27,264/- 10) Accordingly, the amount of compensation of Rs.14,95,200/- awarded by the Claims Tribunal is enhanced to Rs.22,27,264/-. Hence, after deducting the amount of Rs.14,95,200/-, the appellants are entitled for an additional amount of Rs.7,32,064/-. The additional amount of compensation shall carry interest @ 6% per annum from the date of application till its realization. The -5- rest of the terms and conditions of award shall remain intact. 11) Accordingly, this appeal is allowed in part and the impugned award is modified to the extent as indicated herein-above. Sd/- (Rakesh Mohan Pandey) Judge Rekha