1 CGHC010268442026 2026:CGHC:30345 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MAC No. 1665 of 2026 1 - Krishna S/o Sukhram Aged About 51 Years R/o Ward No. 11 Bendrapani, Post Keregaon, Police Station Keregaon, Tehsil Nagri, District Dhamtari Chhattisgarh (Claimant) 2 - Smt. Anjali Markam W/o Late Shri Dharmendra Aged About 22 Years R/o Ward No. 11 Bendrapani, Post Keregaon, Police Station Keregaon, Tehsil Nagri, District Dhamtari Chhattisgarh (Claimant) 3 - Ku. Leesha Netam D/o Late Shri Dharmendra Netam Aged About 3 Years Minor Appellant Represented Through Natural Guardian, Mother Smt. Anjali Markam, R/o Ward No. 11 Bendrapani, Post Keregaon, Police Station Keregaon, Tehsil Nagri, District Dhamtari Chhattisgarh (Claimant) ... Appellants versus 1 - Pankaj Manikpuri S/o Purshottam Manikpuri Aged About 29 Years R/o Village Roadpara Surhi, Post Badal, Tehsil Narharpur, District Kanker Chhattisgarh (Driver) 2 - Ravikant Thakur S/o Lakshmikant Thakur Aged About 37 Years R/o Village Sadarline Dongargaon, Police Station And Tehsil Dongargaon, District Rajnandgaon Chhattisgarh Present Address Near Grameen Bank, Saurabh Tractor, Narharpur, Tehsil Narharpur, District Kanker Chhattisgarh (Owner) 3 - The Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. Through Branch Manager, Branch Office Near M.D. Trade Nagar Ghadi Chowk, Dhamtari Tehsil And District Dhamtari Chhattisgarh (Insurer) ... Respondents Digitally signed by HEERA LAL SAHU Date: 2026.07.20 10:25:20 +0530 2 For Appellants : Mr. Shikhar Shukla, Advocate. For Respondents : Not noticed. Hon'ble Shri Justice Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal, J. Order on Board (17.07.2026) 1. Heard on admission. 2. This is the claimants’ appeal for enhancement against the award dated 25.04.2026 passed by the 1st Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Dhamtari, District - Dhamtari (C.G.) in Motor Accident claim case No. 68/2024 whereby a compensation amount of Rs. 22,96,800/- has been awarded in favour of the claimants. 3. Learned counsel for the appellant submits that the Tribunal committed an error in taking the income of the deceased as Rs. 10,500/- per month based on the minimum wages of an unskilled labourer for the year 2024. According to the appellant, the deceased Dharmendra @ Dharmendra Netam was a mason and was earning Rs. 800/- per day i.e. Rs. 24,000/- per month. Hence, the income should have been assessed for skilled labour. On this ground, it is prayed that the compensation awarded by the Tribunal be suitably enhanced. 4. I have heard learned counsel appearing for the appellant and perused the record of the Tribunal including award impugned. 5. After scrutinising the evidence, the Tribunal held that the accident was caused by the rash and negligent driving of a car, Swift Desire No. CG-08-Y-0331 by its driver, Pankaj Manikpuri- respondent No.1, owned by Ravikant Thakur – respondent No. 2 herein; The deceased, Dharmendra, who was riding a motorcycle No. CG-19-BL-7140 sustained grievous injuries in the said accident and died. The claimants claimed that the deceased was a mason and was earning Rs. 800/- per day, but failed to produce any documentary evidence. Hence, the Tribunal, considering the age of the deceased as 25 years as per 3 postmortem report Ex.A-8, assessed the income of the deceased at Rs. 10,500/- per month as per the minimum wages for an unskilled labourer on the date of accident i.e. 09.01.2024. Accordingly, the Tribunal has awarded compensation to the claimants as under: Sl. No. Heads Compensation 01 Annual income of the deceased (10,500x12) =Rs.1,26,000/- 02 After adding 40% i.e. Rs. 50,400/- towards future prospect annual income of the deceased Rs. (1,26,000+50,400) =Rs. 1,76,400/- 03 Loss of future income of the deceased after deduction of 1/3rd i.e. Rs. 58,800/- for personal expenses (Rs. 1,76,400-58,800) =Rs. 1,17,600/- 04 Total loss of dependency after applying multiplier of 18 (1,17,600x18) =Rs. 21,16,800/- 05 Towards funeral expenses Rs.18,000/- 06 Towards loss of estate Rs. 18,000/- 07 Towards loss of love and affection of the son to claimant No. 1 (father of the deceased) Rs. 48,000/- 08 Towards Spousal consortium to claimant No. 2 (wife of the deceased) Rs. 48,000/- 09 Towards Parental consortium to claimant No. 3 (daughter of the deceased) Rs. 48,000/- Total Rs. 22,96,800/- 6. On a careful consideration of the material on record, it is apparent that no documentary evidence is available to hold that the deceased was a skilled or semi-skilled labourer. As such, this Court finds that the Tribunal has properly appreciated the evidence and the compensation awarded is just and reasonable. 4 There is no infirmity in the impugned award warranting interference. 7. Accordingly, the appeal of the appellant is hereby dismissed at the admission stage. Sd/- Sanjay Kumar Jaiswal Judge H.L. Sahu