1 2025:CGHC:61813 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MAC No. 1446 of 2024 1 - Shyam Lal Dhruv (Netam) S/o Tiharu Ram Dhruv, Aged About 45 Years R/o Village Umargaon, Post Office Umargaon, Tahsil Nagar, District Dhamtari (C.G.) ---- (Claimants) 2 - Smt. Shawali Bai W/o Shyam Lal Dhruv (Netam), Aged About 40 Years R/o Village Umargaon, Post Office Umargaon, Tahsil Nagar, District Dhamtari (C.G.) ---- (Claimants) 3 - Deepak Kumar S/o Shyamlal Dhruv (Netam), Aged About 22 Years R/o Village Umargaon, Post Office Umargaon, Tahsil Nagar, District Dhamtari (C.G.) ---- (Claimants) 4 - Kumari Bhuneshwari Netam D/o Shyam Lal Dhruv (Netam), Aged About 24 Years R/o Village Umargaon, Post Office Umargaon, Tahsil Nagar, District Dhamtari (C.G.) ----(Claimants) ... Petitioner(s) versus 1 - Praveen Kumar Nagarchi S/o Shyam Singh, Aged About 33 Years R/o Village Dahi, Post Office Dahi, Tahsil Kurud, District Dhamtari (C.G.) ----(Driver Of Offending Tractor No. Cg-04/lv-1076) 2 - Chandraprakash Sahu S/o Ramswarup Sahu, Aged About 34 Years R/o Beech Para Saloni, Post Office Saloni, Tahsil Nagari, District Dhamtari (C.G.) ----(Owner Of Offending Tractor No. Cg-04/lv-1076) 3 - The Oriental Insurance Company Limited, Branch Office, Through The Branch NIRMALA RAO 2 Manager, Near Nagar Ghadi Chowk, Dhamtari, Tahsil And District Dhamtari (C.G.) ---(Insurer Of Offending Tractor No. Cg-04/lv-1076) ... Respondent(s) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- For Appellants : Shri Praveen Dhurandhar, Advocate. For Respondents No.1 & 2 : Shri B.L. Sahu, Advocate. For Respondent No.3 : Ms. Arya Shrivastava, Advocate holding the brief of Shri Sandeep Shrivastava, Advocate. Hon'ble Shri Justice Rakesh Mohan Pandey Order on Board 19.12.2025 1. Heard on admission. 2. Admit. 3. With the consent of both the parties, the matter is heard finally. 4. The appellants/ claimants have filed this appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act seeking enhancement of compensation against the award dated 2.5.2024, passed in Claim Case No.72 of 2023 by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Dhamtari, District Dhamtari whereby the learned Tribunal passed an award to the tune of Rs.12,65,360/- and directed the Insurance Company to make payment alongwith interest @ 6% per annum on account of death of Durgesh Kumar Netam. 5. Learned counsel for the appellants would submit that deceased – Durgesh Kumar Netam met with an accident on 26.1.2023 and lost his life when the tractor bearing No. C.G. 04 LV-1076 dashed against his motorcycle. He would submit that the parents and siblings filed a claim case under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act wherein they pleaded that the age of the deceased was 25 years and earning Rs.15,000/- per 3 month. He would contend that the learned Tribunal has considered the income of the deceased at Rs.7,800/-, which is on the lower side. He would contend that the learned Tribunal should have applied the minimum wages matrix while assessing the income. He would further submit that the minimum wages admissible to an unskilled labourer in the month of January, 2023 was Rs.8,060/-. He would further submit that the learned Tribunal has granted compensation for loss of consortium to the parents of the deceased to the tune of Rs.25,000 – 25,000/- whereas, they were entitled to get a sum of Rs.40,000/- each. He would pray to enhance the compensation accordingly. 6. On the other hand, learned counsel for respondent No.3 would oppose the submissions made by counsel for the appellants. She would submit that the claimants failed to prove the income of the deceased, therefore, the learned Tribunal has rightly assessed the income of the deceased at Rs.7,800/- per month. She would submit that the learned Tribunal has granted just and proper compensation and the appeal deserves to be dismissed. 7. Learned counsel for respondents No.1 & 2 would support the contention made by counsel for respondent No.3. 8. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the documents present on the record with utmost circumspection. 9. The claimants pleaded that the deceased was an unskilled labourer earning Rs.15,000/- per month but they failed to prove the income of the deceased by leading cogent evidence and therefore, the learned Tribunal should have applied the minimum wages matrix while assessing the income of the deceased. The minimum wages admissible to an unskilled labourer in the month of January, 2023 was 4 Rs.8,060/- and the learned Tribunal ought to have considered this figure while assessing the compensation. Further, the learned Tribunal has granted compensation of Rs.25,000 – 25,000/- to the parents of the deceased whereas, this figure should have been Rs.40,000/- each. 10. Taking into consideration the above-discussed facts, the compensation requires recomputation and same is revisited herein below: Sr. No. Heads Compensation awarded by Tribunal Compensation awarded by this Court 1. Income Rs.7,800 x 12 = Rs. 93,600/- Rs. 8,060 x 12 = Rs. 96,720/- 2. Future Prospect 40% - 37,440/- (93,600 + 37,440 = 1,31,040/-) 40% - 38,688/- (96,720 + 38,688 = 1,35,408/-) 3. Deduction (-) 50% (65,520/-) (1,31,040 – 65,520 = 65,520/- (-) 50% (67,704/-) (Rs.1,35,408-67,704) = Rs. 67,704/- 4. Multiplier (x) 18 = Rs. (65,520 x 18 = 11,79,360/-) (x) 18 = Rs. (67,704 x 18 = 12,18,672/-) 5. Loss of Estate Rs. 18,000/- Rs. 18,000/- 6. Funeral expenses Rs. 18,000/- Rs. 18,000/- 7. Loss of Consortium to parents of the deceased Rs. 25,000 x 2 = 50,000/- Rs. 40,000 x 2 = 80,000/- TOTAL Rs. 12,65,360/- Rs. 13,34,672/- 11. In view of the aforesaid analysis, the amount of compensation of Rs.12,65,360/- awarded by the Claims Tribunal is enhanced to Rs.13,34,672/-. Hence, after deducting the amount of Rs.12,65,360/-, the appellants/claimants are entitled for an additional amount of Rs.69,312/-. The Insurance Company is directed to deposit the amount of compensation as enhanced by this Court within a period of 3 months 5 from the date of receipt of copy of this order. The additional amount of compensation shall carry interest @ 9% per annum from the date of filing of claim application before the Tribunal till its realization. Rest of the conditions of the impugned award shall remain intact. 12. Accordingly, this appeal is partly allowed and the impugned award is modified to the extent as indicated herein-above. Sd/- (Rakesh Mohan Pandey) Judge Nimmi