[2026:RJ-JP:16415] HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN BENCH AT JAIPUR S.B. Civil Miscellaneous Appeal No. 4225/2012 1. Manbhar W/o Shivji Lal @ Shyojiram, age 39 years 2. Guddi D/o Shivji Lal @ Shyojiram, age 18 years 3. Ganesh S/o Shivji Lal @ Shyojiram, age 14 years 4. Manraj S/o Shivji Lal @ Shyojiram, age 11 years 5. Nathi Devi W/o Kishan Lal, age 66 years (Appellants No.3 and 4 are minor through their mother Manbhar) All R/o Dhuwakala Distt. Tonk --Claimants-Appellants Versus 1. Modaram S/o Mangi Suthar, R/o Guru Ka Talab, Sant Dham Road, Pratap Nagar, Jodhpur (Driver) 2. Bhanwar Lal S/o Chenaram Vishnoi, R/o Hem Nagar Joliyali P.S. Jhawar Distt. Jodhpur Rurul (Owner) 3. New India Insurance Co. Ltd. Through Its Regional Manager, Regional Office At Nehru Place Tonk Road, Jaipur ---Non-Claimants-Respondents For Appellant(s) : Mr. Sunil Jain For Respondent(s) : Mr. Rishipal Agarwal with Mr. Vikram Yadav and Mr. Mihir Jangid HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANDEEP TANEJA Judgment 18/04/2026 1. The present appeal has been filed by the appellants- claimants (for short ‘claimants’) under section 173 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 against the judgment and award dated 15.05.2012 passed by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Tonk (for short ‘Tribunal’) in Claim Case No.157/2011 whereby the claim petition filed by the claimants was partly allowed. [2026:RJ-JP:16415] (2 of 5) [CMA-4225/2012] 2. The brief facts of the case are that on 18.12.2010, Shivji Lal @ Shyoji was climbing onto a standing truck bearing registration No.RJ-01-2528 (for short ‘Truck-2528’) using the attached stairs when, at that moment, another truck bearing registration No.RJ- 19-GA-2000, being driven by Respondent No.1 in a rash and negligent manner, hit both the Truck-2528 and the deceased. As a result of which, Shivji Lal @ Shyoji fell down from the Truck-2528 and sustained fatal injuries, resulting in his death on the spot. 3. Thereafter, the claimants preferred a claim petition before the learned Tribunal and claimed compensation on account of death of deceased, which was partly allowed and a sum of Rs.4,16,044/- was awarded in favour of the claimants, along with interest @7% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till payment. 4. Being dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and award, this appeal has been preferred by the claimants seeking enhancement of the compensation so awarded. 5. Learned counsel for the claimants has made the following submissions:- i. At the time of accident, the deceased was working as a driver and he was earning Rs.10,000/- per month, however the learned Tribunal has determined monthly income of the deceased at Rs.3500/- only. ii. While calculating the loss of dependency, the learned Tribunal has erred by not making any addition in the income of deceased towards future prospects. iii. The learned Tribunal has deducted 1/3rd of the income of deceased towards his personal expenses, however, since the [2026:RJ-JP:16415] (3 of 5) [CMA-4225/2012] number of dependants on deceased at the time of accident were five, therefore, deduction of 1/4th should have been made. iv. Lastly, the compensation under the three conventional heads i.e. loss of consortium, loss of estate and funeral expenses should also be reassessed. 6. On the other hand, learned counsel for respondents has opposed the submissions made by learned counsel for the claimants and has submitted that the award passed by the learned Tribunal is just and proper, and requires no interference by this Court. 7. Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record. 8. Upon perusal of the record, it is apparent that the claimants failed to produce any evidence regarding the monthly income of the deceased. Since, at the time of accident, the deceased was working as a driver, therefore, his monthly income would be calculated on the basis of minimum wages notified for a skilled worker by the State Government for the relevant period of time. 8.1 Undisputedly, at the time of accident, the minimum wages notified for a skilled worker were Rs.115/- per day, based on that the monthly income of deceased would be Rs.3450/-. Hence, this Court finds that the learned Tribunal was justified in assessing the monthly income of deceased at Rs.3500/-. 8.2 Accordingly, the compensation towards loss dependency would be calculated on the basis of said monthly income. 9. Further, in light of the guidelines laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the cases of National Insurance Company [2026:RJ-JP:16415] (4 of 5) [CMA-4225/2012] Ltd. Vs. Pranay Sethi reported in (2017) 16 SCC 680 and Magma General Insurance Company Vs. Nanuram @ Chuhru Ram & Ors. reported in (2018) 18 SCC 130, this Court is of the opinion that the compensation as awarded by the learned Tribunal deserves to be enhanced in the following terms:- i. The learned Tribunal determined that at the time of accident, the age of the deceased was between 41-45 years, therefore, while calculating the compensation towards loss of dependency, addition @ 25% will be made in the income of the deceased towards future prospects. ii. The learned Tribunal deducted 1/3rd of the income of the deceased towards his personal expenses, however, considering the fact that at the time of accident, there were five dependants on the deceased, therefore, 1/4th of his income would be deducted towards his personal expenses. iii. Under the head of loss of consortium, each of the claimants is entitled to get compensation of Rs.40,000/- separately. iv. The claimants are also entitled to Rs.15,000/- under the head of loss of estate. v. The compensation of Rs.15,000/- will also be awarded towards funeral expenses. 10. As a result of the above discussions, the compensation payable to the claimants is re-computed as under:- S.No. Particular Amount assessed 1. Monthly Income Rs.3,500/- 2. Annual Income Rs.3500 x 12 = Rs.42,000/- 3. According to the age of the deceased i.e. 41 years, multiplier of 14 to be applied Rs.42,000/- x 14 = Rs.5,88,000/- [2026:RJ-JP:16415] (5 of 5) [CMA-4225/2012] 4. Add 25% towards future prospects (+) Rs.5,88,000 /- + Rs.1,47,000/- = Rs.7,35,000/- 5. As per dependency, 1/4th of the income to be deduced for personal expenses of deceased (-) Rs.7,35,000/- ‒ Rs.1,83,750/- = Rs.5,51,250/- 6. Loss of consortium (five claimants) Rs.40,000 x 5 = Rs.2,00,000/- 7. Loss of estate Rs.15,000/- 8. Funeral Expenses Rs.15,000/- Total compensation (S.No.5+6+7+8) Rs.7,81,250 /- Less amount awarded by the Tribunal (-) Rs.4,16,044/- Enhanced amount of compensation Rs.3,65,206 /- 11. Accordingly, the compensation awarded by the learned Tribunal is enhanced by Rs.3,65,206/-. The rest of the impugned award shall remain intact. The respondents are directed to deposit the enhanced amount within a period of two months from today. 12. It is directed that the enhanced amount shall carry the interest in terms of the award passed by the learned Tribunal and the amount shall be disbursed in terms of the award passed by the learned Tribunal. 13. The present appeal is disposed of in the above terms. 14. All pending applications, if any, also stand disposed of. 15. Office is directed to send back the record of the case to the concerned Tribunal forthwith. (SANDEEP TANEJA),J TN/19