1 2025:CGHC:20764 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MAC No. 356 of 2019 1 - Smt. Sushma Agrawal W/o Late Aseem Agrawal Aged About 45 Years R/o B-75, Opp. water Tank No. 1, Raj Kishor Nagar, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 2 - Anurag Agrawal S/o Late Aseem Agrawal Aged About 20 Years R/o B-75, Opp. water Tank No. 1, Raj Kishor Nagar, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 3 - Anubhav Agrawal S/o Late Aseem Agrawal Aged About 16 Years Minor Through His Natural Guardian Mother Smt. Sushma Agrawal Aged About 45 Years W/o Late Aseem Agrawal R/o B-75, Opp. water Tank No. 1, Raj Kishor Nagar, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. 4 - Smt. Shiv Kumari Agrawal W/o Late Jawahar Lal Agrawal Aged About 74 Years R/o B-75, Opp. water Tank No. 1, Raj Kishor Nagar, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh. --- Appellants versus 1 - Pankaj Kushwaha S/o Ramkripal Kushwaha, R/o Village Accholi, Gandhi Chowk, Urla, Raipur, District Raipur Chhattisgarh (Owner). 2 - Nilkamal Tandon S/o Balram Tandon Aged About 46 Years R/o 137, Bardi Ngapur (Maharashtra) Presently R/o Ward No. 9, Village Accholi, Police Station Urla District Raipur Chhattisgarh. (Driver). 3 - The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. Through Its Divisional Manager, the Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., divisional Officer At Digitally signed by HEERA LAL SAHU Date: 2025.05.08 17:14:34 +0530 2 Rama Trade Center, Opp. Rajeev Plaza, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh. (Insurer). --- Respondents MAC No. 355 of 2019 1 - Smt. Shiv Kumari Agrawal W/o Late Jawahar Lal Agrawal Aged About 74 Years R/o B-75, Opp. Water Tank No.1, Raj Kishor Nagar, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh. ---Appellant Versus 1 - Pankaj Kushwaha S/o Ramkripal Kushwaha R/o Village Accholi, Gandhi Chowk, Urla, Raipur, District Raipur Chhattisgarh. (Owner). 2 - Nilkamal Tandon S/o Balram Tandon Aged About 46 Years Presently R/o 137, Bardi, Nagpur Maharashtra, Presently R/o Ward No.9, Village Accholi, Police Station Urla, District Raipur Chhattisgarh.. (Driver). 3 - The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. Through Its Divisional Manager, The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd., Divisional Office At Rama Trade Centre, Opp. Rajeev Plaza, Bilaspur, District Bilaspur Chhattisgarh. (Insurer). --- Respondents For Appellants : Mr. Praveen Dhurandhar, Advocate, in both the appeals. For Respondent No. 3 : Mr. Akash Shrivastava, Adv. on behalf of Mr. R.N. Pusty, Advocate, in both the appeals. For other respondents : None. Hon'ble Shri Justice Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal Order on Board ( 06 . 05 .202 5 ) 1. Since both appeals arise out of the same accident dated 30.06.2013 and the involved offending vehicle is the same, they are being heard and disposed of by this common 3 judgment. 2. MAC No.356/2019 preferred against the order dated 29.11.2018, passed by 8th Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Bilaspur (C.G.), in Claim Case No. 483/2014, whereby a compensation of Rs. 71,83,427/- has been awarded in favour of the claimants for the death of Aseem Agrawal; MAC No.355/2019 preferred against the order dated 29.11.2018, passed by 8th Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Bilaspur (C.G.), in Claim Case No. 482/2014, whereby a compensation of Rs. 29,466/- has been awarded in favour of the claimant/appellant for her injuries. 3. The gist of the claims before the claims Tribunal, in brief, was that on 30.06.2013 at about 4:00 pm, near Charod, Police Station Dharsiva, District Raipur, Neelkamal Tandon, driver of the offending vehicle i.e. truck bearing registration No. CG-04-G-7241, owned by Pankaj Kushwaha, driving the vehicle in a rash and negligent manner, dashed the vehicle i.e. Wagon R Car bearing registration No. CG-10-FA-3163 of deceased Aseem Agrawal, due to which Aseem Agrawal sustained grievous injuries and died during the course of treatment. In the said car, Smt. Shivkumari Agrawal was also sitting who also suffered grievous injuries, due to the said accident. The matter was reported to the police, and a case was registered against the driver of the offending vehicle. 4. In Claim Case No. 483/2014, it was stated that deceased Aseem Agrawal suffered grievous injuries on his left hand, leg, chest and head. His lungs were also damaged, and his right hand was fractured. He was admitted to the ICU of Narayana Hospital, Devendra Nagar Raipur, where he was kept on ventilation, but his health condition did not improve, and on 27.07.2013, he succumbed to his injuries. 4 The deceased was a Sub-Engineer at Nagar Nigam Bilaspur and was aged about 48 years on the date of the accident. He was withdrawing a salary of Rs. 45,352/- due to the casual death of the deceased, the claimants/appellants have irreparable loss, therefore, a claim application under Section 166 of M.V. Act has been filed by them claiming a total compensation of Rs. 1,10,00,000/-. In Claim Case No. 482/2014, it was stated that due to the said accident, appellant Smt. Shiv Kumari Agrawal sustained grievous injuries on her body, due to which she was admitted to the ICU of Narayan Hospital, Devenedra Nagar, Raipur. Her right hand got fractured in the said accident, due to which she suffered mental and physical agony. Therefore, the appellant filed a claim application under Section 166 of the M.V. Act claiming a total compensation of Rs. 3,20,000/-. MAC No. 356/2019 5. In Claim Case No. 483/2014, the learned Tribunal, after considering the evidence and documents available on record, assessed the income of the deceased Aseem Agrawal to be Rs.45,352/- per month as per the salary slip Ex.P-136 of June, 2013. Further, considering the fact that the deceased was admitted for 28 days in the hospital for which medical bills has been produced vide Ex.P-11 to Ex.P-105 of Rs. 4,53,120/- and also considering that the deceased was 48 years at the time of accident, 30 future prospects was added in the salary of the deceased and after deduction of ¼ income towards personal expenses and after applying the multiplier of 13, the learned claims tribunal awarded a total compensation of Rs. 71,83,427/- in the following manner:- Sl. No. Heads Compensation 01 Towards loss of dependency Rs. 62,30,237/- 5 02 Towards loss of love and affection Rs. 10,000/- 03 Towards loss of estate Rs. 15,000/- 04 Towards Funeral expenses Rs. 15,000/- 05 Towards mental and physical agony Rs. 10,000/- 06 Towards loss of consortium to widow of the deceased Rs. 40,000/- 07 Towards medicine bills Rs. 4,53,120/- 08 Towards Medical expenses Rs. 4,10,070/- Total Rs. 71,83,427/- 6. Learned counsel for the appellants/claimants submits that the learned claims tribunal erred in not assessing the gross salary i.e. Rs. 48,008/- per month of the deceased while assessing the income of the deceased as per the salary slip of May 2013, Ex.P-136. He also submits that the awarded amount on the other heads is also on the lower side, which needs to be enhanced suitably. 7. Learned counsel for the Insurance Company supported the impugned award and submitted that the award in question is based on the proper appreciation of the material available on record which does not call for any interference. 8. Heard counsel for the parties and perused the record. 9. Now this Court shall examine as to whether the compensation awarded by the Tribunal in the claim cases are just and proper compensation in the given facts and circumstances of the case. 10. Assistant Grade-II, Raju Mahakund (AW-2) of Municipal Corporation Bilaspur has been examined by claimants, who has confirmed the salary slip Ex.P-136 of May 2013, of the deceased. According to salary slip Ex. P-136 of May – 2013, the gross salary of the deceased was Rs.48,008/- per month, which has not been considered by the claims Tribunal. In the absence of any rebuttal with regard to the 6 salary of the deceased, the income of the deceased is hereby taken to Rs. 48,008/- per month, i.e. Rs. 5,76,096/- per annum. Since the deceased was a salaried person aged around 48 years at the time of accident, as per National Insurance Company Ltd., Vs. Pranay Sethi and Others, (2017) 16 SCC 680, the future prospects would be 30% as has rightly been held by the claims tribunal. After adding 30% towards future prospect i.e. Rs.1,72,828.8/- in round figure Rs. 1,72,829/-, the annual income comes to Rs.7,48,925/-. 11. From the annual income of the deceased, there will be statutory deduction towards income tax. The income tax slab for the financial year 2013-2014 was as follows: Income Tax Slabs in the FY 2013-14 Income Tax Rates Taxable Income Total Tax Upto 2 lakh nil Rs. 2,00,000/- nil 2,00,001 to 5 lakh 10% Rs. 3,00,000/- Rs. 30,000/- 5,00,001 to 10 lakh 20% Rs.2,48,925/- Rs. 49,785/- Total Tax Rs. 79,785/- 12. In view of the same, after deduction of income tax, the annual income comes to Rs.6,69,140 (7,48,925 – 79,785). 13. The deceased was aged about 48 years and was married and the claimants are 4 in number, so deduction towards personal expenses would be 1/4th i.e. Rs.1,67,285/-, which has rightly been applied by the claim Tribunal. After deduction of personal expenses, the annual dependency comes to Rs.5,01,855 (6,69,140-1,67,285). In view of judgment of the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the case of Sarla Verma (Smt.) and others vs. Delhi Transport Corporation and another reported in (2009) 6 SCC 121 and National Insurance Company Ltd., Vs. Pranay Sethi and Others, (2017) 16 SCC 680 and also considering the age of the deceased, the multiplier of 13 applied by the Tribunal is proper and after applying the said multiplier, 7 the total loss of dependency works out to Rs.65,24,115/- (5,01,855 x 13). The claimants are also entitled for Rs. 15,000/- towards loss of estate and Rs.15,000/- for funeral expenses. As per 'Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. Vs. Nanu, reported in AIR Online 2018 SC 189, the claimants are further entitled for Rs. 40,000/- each i.e. Rs. 1,60,000/- towards loss of love and affection. Further, considering the medical bills from Ex.P-11 to Ex.P-133, the claimants are found entitled to get a compensation of Rs. 4,10,070/- towards medical bills, Rs. 10,000/- towards mental agony and Rs. 4,53,120/- towards medical expenses, as has been awarded by the claims tribunal. Accordingly, the claimants would become entitled for a total compensation of Rs. 75,87,305 in the following manner:- Heads Calculation Compensation towards loss of dependency 65,24,115 Loss of estate 15,000 Rs. 40,000/- each, towards love and affection to all 4 claimants 1,60,000 Funeral Expenses 15,000 Towards medical bills 4,10,070 Towards mental agony 10,000 Towards Medical expenses 4,53,120 Total Rs. 75,87,305 14. Thus, the total compensation is recomputed as Rs.75,87,305/- from which after deduction of Rs.71,83,427/- as awarded by the claims Tribunal, the enhanced compensation would be Rs.4,03,878/-. MAC No. 355/2019 15. In Claim Case No. 482/2014, the learned Tribunal, after 8 considering the evidence and documents available on record, futher considering the fact that the appellant was admitted in the hospital for 5 days from 30.06.2013 to 05.07.2013, for which she produced medical bills vide Ex.P-6 to Ex.P-23. Further, considering all the facts and evidence, the learned claims tribunal awarded a total compensation of Rs. 29,466/- in the following manner:- Heads Compensation Towards medical expenses Rs. 24,466/- Towards physical and mental agony Rs. 5,000/- Total Rs. 29,466/- 16. Learned counsel for the appellant/claimant submits that the learned claims tribunal erred in awarding a very low amount towards pain and suffering. The tribunal ought to have awarded compensation to the head of conveyance, special diet, nursing, assistance, etc. Hence, the compensation may be enhanced suitably. 17. Learned counsel for the Insurance Company supported the impugned award and submitted that the award in question is based on the proper appreciation of the material available on record which does not call for any interference. 18. Heard counsel for the parties and perused the record. 19. It is evident from the records that appellant Smt. Shiv Kumari Agrawal suffered injuries in the said accident. She was admitted in the hospital for 5 days from 30.06.2013 to 05.07.2013 and spent Rs. 24,466/- for her medical expenses (Ex.P-6 to P-23), for which she is entitled to get compensation. Further, Looking to the statement of Dr. Sunil Khemka (AW-3), who stated on the basis of CT Scan report that the injuries suffered by the appellant were simple in nature and he has not stated about the 9 requirement of future treatment of the said injuries sustained by the appellant in the said accident, therefore, she is not entitled to get any compensation on the head of future treatment, as has been held by the claims tribunal. However, looking to the fact that the appellant was admitted in the hospital for 5 days and suffered mental and physical pain during her treatment, apart from the award passed by the claims tribunal, I am of the opinion to award a compensation of Rs. 5,000/- towards nutritious food and transportation expenses. Thus, considering the material available on record, the compensation is enhanced in the following manner:- Sl No. Heads Award by claims Tribunal Award by this Court 01 Towards treatment and medicine expenses Rs. 24,466/- Rs. 24,466/- 02 Towards physical and mental agony Rs. 5,000/- Rs. 5,000/- 03 Towards Nutritious food and transportation expenses nil Rs. 5,000/- Total Rs. 29,466/- Rs. 34,466/- 20. Thus, the total compensation is recomputed as Rs. 34,466/-. After deducting Rs.29,466/- as awarded by the claims Tribunal, the enhancement would be Rs. 5,000/-. 21. In the result, the appeals are partly allowed. The claimants/appellants in MAC No.356 of 2019 shall be entitled to Rs.4,03,878/- and the claimant/appellant in MAC No.355/2019 shall be entitled to Rs. 5,000/- in addition to what has already been awarded by the claims Tribunal. The enhanced amount shall carry interest @ 6% from the date of enhancement of the award till its 10 realization. The impugned award stands modified to the above extent, and the rest of the conditions shall remain intact. 22. Records of the Tribunal along with a copy of this judgment be sent forthwith for compliance and necessary action, if any. Sd/- (Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal) Judge H. L. Sahu