Present: Mr. Deepak Sabharwal Advocate Vs. Jagjit Singh and Others - Court Judgment

SooperKanoon Citationsooperkanoon.com/1154891
CourtPunjab and Haryana High Court
Decided OnJul-08-2014
AppellantPresent: Mr. Deepak Sabharwal Advocate
RespondentJagjit Singh and Others
Excerpt:
fao no.1136 of 1999 -1- in the high court for the states of punjab and haryana at chandigarh fao no.1136 of 1999 date of decision.08.07.2014 gurdeep kaur and others ......appellants versus jagjit singh and others ......respondents present: mr. deepak sabharwal, advocate for the appellants. mr. vinod gupta, advocate for the insurance company. coram:hon'ble mr. justice k. kannan1 whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ?.2. to be referred to the reporters or not ?.3. whether the judgment should be reported in the digest?. -.- k. kannan j.(oral) 1. the appeal arises out of claim for compensation for death of a male aged 35 years. he was partner in a stone crusher having invested ` 6 lacs and the income tax return showed that his own share of 40% profit aggregated to ` 2,01,052/-. it was in evidence that he used to contribute about ` 10,000/- for the family towards the maintenance and spent for himself about ` 5,000/- per month. the tribunal assessed a compensation of ` 3,50,000/- without properly assigning the compensation for each one of the relevant heads. the manner of assessment as done by the tribunal is wholly erroneous.2. in the course of appeal, although the widow had also joined along with children, she has been transposed as respondent by an order kamboj pankaj kumar 2014.07.10 14:45 i attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document chandigarh fao no.1136 of 1999 -2- of court when a representation was made on her behalf that she had remarried and she was not prosecuting the case for enhancement. i would take it, therefore, that her claim for enhancement would stand abated and the case would require to be considered only for the claim of the minor children and the mother of the deceased. the mother of the deceased has also expired during the pendency of the appeal and the assessment of compensation could, therefore, require to be considered only so far as the contribution of the deceased to the children. i would take the contribution to the children as 1/5th of the total income minus the deduction which i will take as ` 35,000/- per year. i will apply a multiplier of 16 and assess the loss of dependence at ` 5,60,000/- and add additional amount of ` 1 lac towards loss of love and affection.3. it is not possible to predicate the extent of compensation which the minor children had. the tribunal had merely assessed ` 3,50,000/- as compensation payable to all claimants including the sisters of the deceased. there could not have been a lawful claim for the sisters when there were widow, children and mother of the deceased. they could not have also treated themselves as equally entitled to the amount. since the children themselves had not preferred an appeal initially challenging the apportionment, i take it that the amount of ` 3,50,000/- was to be treated as equally partible and the amount which shall be deducted, shall be equivalent ` 1,00,000/- (` 50,000x2). the balance shall be ` 2,56,000/- and it shall also attract interest @6% from the date of petition till the date of payment. the enforcement of the award shall be available against the kamboj pankaj kumar 2014.07.10 14:45 i attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document chandigarh fao no.1136 of 1999 -3- insurance company.4. the award stands modified and the appeal is allowed to the above extent. (k. kannan) judge july 08, 2014 pankaj* kamboj pankaj kumar 2014.07.10 14:45 i attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document chandigarh
Judgment:

FAO No.1136 of 1999 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No.1136 of 1999 Date of Decision.08.07.2014 Gurdeep Kaur and others ......Appellants Versus Jagjit Singh and others ......Respondents Present: Mr. Deepak Sabharwal, Advocate for the appellants. Mr. Vinod Gupta, Advocate for the insurance company. CORAM:HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN1 Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ?.

2. To be referred to the Reporters or not ?.

3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest?. -.- K. KANNAN J.(ORAL) 1. The appeal arises out of claim for compensation for death of a male aged 35 years. He was partner in a stone crusher having invested ` 6 lacs and the income tax return showed that his own share of 40% profit aggregated to ` 2,01,052/-. It was in evidence that he used to contribute about ` 10,000/- for the family towards the maintenance and spent for himself about ` 5,000/- per month. The Tribunal assessed a compensation of ` 3,50,000/- without properly assigning the compensation for each one of the relevant heads. The manner of assessment as done by the Tribunal is wholly erroneous.

2. In the course of appeal, although the widow had also joined along with children, she has been transposed as respondent by an order Kamboj Pankaj Kumar 2014.07.10 14:45 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO No.1136 of 1999 -2- of Court when a representation was made on her behalf that she had remarried and she was not prosecuting the case for enhancement. I would take it, therefore, that her claim for enhancement would stand abated and the case would require to be considered only for the claim of the minor children and the mother of the deceased. The mother of the deceased has also expired during the pendency of the appeal and the assessment of compensation could, therefore, require to be considered only so far as the contribution of the deceased to the children. I would take the contribution to the children as 1/5th of the total income minus the deduction which I will take as ` 35,000/- per year. I will apply a multiplier of 16 and assess the loss of dependence at ` 5,60,000/- and add additional amount of ` 1 lac towards loss of love and affection.

3. It is not possible to predicate the extent of compensation which the minor children had. The Tribunal had merely assessed ` 3,50,000/- as compensation payable to all claimants including the sisters of the deceased. There could not have been a lawful claim for the sisters when there were widow, children and mother of the deceased. They could not have also treated themselves as equally entitled to the amount. Since the children themselves had not preferred an appeal initially challenging the apportionment, I take it that the amount of ` 3,50,000/- was to be treated as equally partible and the amount which shall be deducted, shall be equivalent ` 1,00,000/- (` 50,000x2). The balance shall be ` 2,56,000/- and it shall also attract interest @6% from the date of petition till the date of payment. The enforcement of the award shall be available against the Kamboj Pankaj Kumar 2014.07.10 14:45 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh FAO No.1136 of 1999 -3- insurance company.

4. The award stands modified and the appeal is allowed to the above extent. (K. KANNAN) JUDGE July 08, 2014 Pankaj* Kamboj Pankaj Kumar 2014.07.10 14:45 I attest to the accuracy and integrity of this document Chandigarh