1 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MAC No. 350 of 2024 1 - Kalesiya Agariya Wd/o Late Ramesh Kumar Agariya Aged About 27 Years R/o Village Baksahi, Diprapara, Ward No. 02, Police Station And Tahsil - Pali, District Korba (C.G.),... (Applicants) 2 - Shraddha Kumari D/o Late Ramesh Kumar Agariya Aged About 2 Years Minor, Through The Mother (Natural Guardian) Kalesiya Agariya, R/o Village Baksahi, Diprapara, Ward No. 02, Police Station And Tahsil - Pali, District Korba (C.G.) 3 - Shailendri W/o Sawan Singh Aged About 52 Years R/o Village Baksahi, Diprapara, Ward No. 02, Police Station And Tahsil - Pali, District Korba (C.G.) 4 - Shraddhranjali Agariya D/o Late Ramesh Kumar Agariya Aged About 1 Years Minor, Through The Mother (Natural Guardian) Kalesiya Agariya, R/o Village Baksahi, Diprapara, Ward No. 02, Police Station And Tahsil - Pali, District Korba (C.G.) ... Appellants versus 1 - Milan Singh Rathaur(Died And Deleted) As Per Court Order Dated 12-09-2025. 2 - Branch Manager Iffco Tokyo General Insurance Company Limited, Branch Office - 01, Galxy Heights, Vyapar Vihar Road, Near Of I.C.I.C.I., Bank, Police Station - Civil Line, Tahsil And District Bilaspur (C.G.), (Insurer Of The Vehicle Trailer No. C.G.-15-Ac-3642) ... Respondent(s) For Appellants : Mr. Anand Kesharwani, Advocate For Respondent No. 2 : Ms. Nikita Dubey on behalf of Mr. Vaibhav Shukla, Advocate Hon'ble Shri Justice Sachin Singh Rajput, Order on Board 12.09.2025 1) With the consent of the parties, the matter is heard finally. 2 2) This appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short MV Act) has been filed by the appellants/claimants, being aggrieved by the award dated 17.10.2023 passed by the 6th Upper Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Bilaspur, District- Bilaspur (C.G.) (for short ‘learned Tribunal’) in Claim Case No. 1124/2021. 3) By the impugned award, the learned Tribunal has awarded compensation of Rs. 19,01,180/- to the appellants/claimants, on account of the death of deceased Ramesh Kumar Agariya in an accident that took place on 27.06.2021 by rash and negligent driving of the offending vehicle (Trailor) bearing Registration No. CG-15-AC-3642 by Milan Singh Driver-cum-owner and insured with respondent No.2/Insurance company. As a result of the said accident, the deceased died while taking hospital for treatment. 4) As per the pleadings, the deceased/ Ramesh Kumar Agariya was aged about 27 years and was a driver and earning a monthly income of Rs. 15,000/-. The appellants/claimants were dependent upon the income of the deceased. 5) The deceased driver-cum-owner did not filed the written statement and remained ex parte before the learned Tribunal. Respondent No.2 /Insurance company in usual course, denied the averments of the claim application and pleaded that the driver of the offending vehicle did not have valid and effective driving licence and there is a violation of terms and conditions of insurance policy. 6) On the basis of the above pleadings, the learned Tribunal has framed issues and after appreciating the material available on record decided the same in favour of the appellants/claimants and awarded above stated compensation. 7) Learned counsel for the appellants/claimants submits that the deceased was a skilled driver earning Rs. 15,000/- per month, whereas the learned Tribunal 3 has assessed his monthly income at only Rs. 7,900/-, which, therefore, requires suitable enhancement by this Court. 8) Learned counsel for respondent No. 2 supports the award and submits that, in view of the evidence available on record, the findings recorded by the learned Tribunal are justified and that just compensation has been awarded. She further submits, that no appeal has been preferred by the Insurance Company against the impugned award. 9) I have heard learned counsel for the parties, considered their rival submissions and perused the records. 10) According to the pleadings in the claim application, the deceased was a driver and had four dependents, including his widow, two minor children, and his mother. Considering the evidence available on record, the age of the deceased, the date of the accident, and the nature of job, this Court is of the view that the monthly income of the deceased can be safely assessed at Rs. 10,000/-. 11) In light of the above and taking guidance from the judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of National Insurance Company Ltd. V. Pranay Sethi and others; (2017) 16 SCC 680, Sarla Verma & Ors. Vs. Delhi Transport Corporation & Ors; (2009) 6 SCC 121 and Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Nanu Ram @ Chuhru Ram & Ors; (2018) 18 SCC 130, this Court is recomputing the compensation as below:- S.N Particular Awarded by this Court 1. Monthly Income of the deceased 10,000/- 2. Future Prospect 40% 10,000 X40%=4,000/- 3. Net Income 10,000+4,000=14,000/- 4. Yearly income 14,000 X12=1,68,000/- 5. Personal expenditure 1/4 1,68,000/4= 42,000/- 6. Yearly dependency 1,68,000-42,000=1,26,000/- 7. Multiplier of 17 applied to assess loss of dependency 1,26,000 X17= 21,42,000/- 4 8. Funeral Expenses 16,500/- 9. Loss of estate 16,500/- 10. Spousal, Parental and Filial consortium 1,76,000/- (44,000/- each to A-1 to A-4) Total compensation Rs. 23,51,000/- 11) For the forgoing reasons, the appeal is allowed in part. The amount of compensation of Rs.19,01,180/- awarded by the Tribunal is enhanced to Rs. 23,51,000/-. Hence, after deducting the amount of Rs. 19,01,180/-, the appellants/claimants are held entitled for an additional amount of Rs. 4,49,820/-. The additional amount shall carry interest @6% per anuum from the date of appeal i.e. 13.02.2024. The impugned award stands modified to the above extent. 12) The respondent No. 2–Insurance Company is directed to deposit the enhanced amount of compensation, as awarded by this Court, within a period of 60 days from today. Upon such deposit being made, a sum of Rs. 1,00,000/- each shall be invested in the name of appellant Nos. 2 and 4/claimants in Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDRs) in any Nationalized Bank till they attained majority. A sum of Rs. 1,50,000/- shall be invested in the name of appellant No.1/claimants in Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDRs) in any Nationalized Bank for a period of 2 years. A sum of Rs. 50,000/- shall be disbursed in favour of appellant No.3. The remaining amount shall be paid to appellant No. 1 by way of bank transfer/account payee cheque 13) Consequently, the appeal is partly allowed. Sd/- (Sachin Singh Rajput) Judge H.Ansari HIFZURRAHMAN ANSARI Digitally signed by HIFZURRAHMAN ANSARI Date: 2025.09.17 16:58:31 +0530