Icici Lombard General Ins. Co Ltd vs.jallan & Ors - Court Judgment

SooperKanoon Citationsooperkanoon.com/1214575
CourtDelhi High Court
Decided OnApr-26-2018
AppellantIcici Lombard General Ins. Co Ltd
RespondentJallan & Ors
Excerpt:
$~14 & 15 * % in the high court of delhi at new delhi date of decision:26. h april, 2018 through: mr.sandeep jha, advocate ..... appellant versus jallan & ors icici lombard general ins. co ltd + mac.app. 1023/2017 & cm no.42594/2017 + mac.app. 177/2018 icici lombard general ins. co ltd jallan & anr versus through: mr.vijay babbar, advocate ........ respondents through: mr.vijay babbar, advocate ..... appellants ..... respondent through: mr.sandeep jha, advocate for respondent no.1. coram: hon'ble mr. justice j.r. midha ]. judgment (oral) 1. the parties have challenged the award of the claims tribunal whereby compensation of rs.4,78,000/- was awarded to respondents no.1 and 2. vide order dated 6th december, 2017, the claims tribunal modified the award to rs.3,86,280/-.2. the appellant in mac.app.1023/2017 is seeking reduction of the mac. app. 1023/2017, 177-2018 page 1 of 4 award amount whereas the appellants in mac.app.177/2018 are seeking enhancement of the award amount.3. the accident dated 8th march, 2011 resulted in the death of sajid. the deceased was aged 20 years at the time of the accident and was survived by his parents who claimed compensation. the deceased was a scrap dealer. however, in the absence of any proof of income, the claims tribunal took the minimum wages of rs.6,084/-, deducted ½ towards his personal expenses and applied the multiplier of 15 to compute the loss of dependency as rs.5,47,560/-. the claims tribunal awarded rs.25,000/- towards funeral expenses, rs.1,50,000/- towards loss of love and affection and rs.50,000/- towards loss of estate. the claims tribunal deducted 50% towards contributory negligence to compute the compensation as rs.3,86,280/-.4. learned counsel for the appellant in mac.app.1023/2017 urged at the time of the hearing that the deceased was responsible for the accident and there was no negligence on the part of the driver of the offending vehicle. it is submitted that the offending vehicle had broken down and the deceased hit the offending vehicle from behind. it is submitted that all precautions were taken by the offending vehicle. learned counsel for the appellant further submits that the non-pecuniary compensation be reduced according to the principles laid down in national insurance co. limited vs. pranay sethi and ors. 2017 scc online sc1270 5. learned counsel for the claimants submits that the offending vehicle was parked in the middle of the road without any precautions and therefore, the contributory negligence of the offending vehicle should be taken as 75%. learned counsel for the claimants further submits that the future prospects be taken into consideration to compute the compensation and the multiplier mac. app. 1023/2017, 177-2018 page 2 of 4 be enhanced 15 to 18 according to the age of the deceased.6. with respect to the finding of contributory negligence, this court accepts the findings of the claims tribunal holding the deceased to be contributory negligent to the extent of 50%. however, with respect to the computation of compensation, 40% is added as future prospects of the deceased and multiplier is enhanced from 15 to 18 in terms of the principles laid down in national insurance co. limited vs. pranay sethi and ors. (supra). the compensation for loss of love and affection is no more a permissible head and therefore, the compensation awarded by the claims tribunal for loss of love and affection is set aside. the compensation towards loss of estate and funeral expenses is reduced to rs.15,000/- each.7. taking the income of the deceased as rs.6,084/-, adding 40% towards future prospects, deducting towards his personal expenses, applying the multiplier of 18, the loss of dependency is computed as rs.9,19,900.80. 50% is deducted towards the contributory negligence of the deceased and rs.15,000/- is added towards loss of estate and rs.15,000/- towards funeral expenses. the total compensation to the claimants is computed as rs.4,89,950.40 rounded off to rs.4,90,000/- along with interest @ 9% per annum.8. both the appeals are partly allowed and the compensation amount is enhanced from rs.3,86,280/- to rs.4,90,900/-.9. the enhanced award amount be deposited by the appellant in mac.app.1023/2017 with the registrar general of this court within four weeks.10. list for disbursement of the enhanced compensation amount on 24th july, 2018. mac. app. 1023/2017, 177-2018 page 3 of 4 11. with respect to the amount of rs.5,40,840/- deposited by the appellant in terms of the award of the claims tribunal, rs.2 lakh have already been disbursed to respondent no.2 and balance amount is lying with state bank of india, tis hazari courts branch.12. state bank of india is directed to keep rs.3 lakh in 30 fdrs of rs.10,000/- each in the name of respondent no.2, nagina with cumulative interest. the balance amount, after keeping rs.3 lakh in fdrs, be released to respondents no.1 and 2 in equal shares by transferring the same in their individual savings bank account no.35296841060 and 35296871516 respectively with state bank of india, tis hazari courts branch.13. at the time of maturity, the maturity amount shall be credited in the individual savings bank account of respondent no.2, nagina.14. all the original fdrs shall be retained by state bank of india. however, a statement containing fdr number, fdr amount, date of maturity and the maturity amount shall be provided to respondent no.2.15. no loan or advance or pre-mature discharge shall be permitted without the permission of this court.16. the statutory amount be refunded back to the appellant in mac.app.1023/2017 after the deposit of the enhanced award amount.17. the pending application is disposed of.18. copy of this judgment be given dasti to learned counsels for the parties under the signatures of the court master. april26 2018 dk j.r.midha, j.mac. app. 1023/2017, 177-2018 page 4 of 4
Judgment:

$~14 & 15 * % IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI Date of Decision:

26. h April, 2018 Through: Mr.Sandeep Jha, Advocate ..... Appellant versus JALLAN & ORS ICICI LOMBARD GENERAL INS. CO LTD + MAC.APP. 1023/2017 & CM No.42594/2017 + MAC.APP. 177/2018 ICICI LOMBARD GENERAL INS. CO LTD JALLAN & ANR versus Through: Mr.Vijay Babbar, Advocate ........ RESPONDENTS

Through: Mr.Vijay Babbar, Advocate ..... Appellants ..... Respondent Through: Mr.Sandeep Jha, Advocate for respondent no.1. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE J.R. MIDHA ]. JUDGMENT (ORAL) 1. The parties have challenged the award of the Claims Tribunal whereby compensation of Rs.4,78,000/- was awarded to respondents no.1 and 2. Vide order dated 6th December, 2017, the Claims Tribunal modified the award to Rs.3,86,280/-.

2. The appellant in MAC.APP.1023/2017 is seeking reduction of the MAC. APP. 1023/2017, 177-2018 Page 1 of 4 award amount whereas the appellants in MAC.APP.177/2018 are seeking enhancement of the award amount.

3. The accident dated 8th March, 2011 resulted in the death of Sajid. The deceased was aged 20 years at the time of the accident and was survived by his parents who claimed compensation. The deceased was a scrap dealer. However, in the absence of any proof of income, the Claims Tribunal took the minimum wages of Rs.6,084/-, deducted ½ towards his personal expenses and applied the multiplier of 15 to compute the loss of dependency as Rs.5,47,560/-. The Claims Tribunal awarded Rs.25,000/- towards funeral expenses, Rs.1,50,000/- towards loss of love and affection and Rs.50,000/- towards loss of estate. The Claims Tribunal deducted 50% towards contributory negligence to compute the compensation as Rs.3,86,280/-.

4. Learned counsel for the appellant in MAC.APP.1023/2017 urged at the time of the hearing that the deceased was responsible for the accident and there was no negligence on the part of the driver of the offending vehicle. It is submitted that the offending vehicle had broken down and the deceased hit the offending vehicle from behind. It is submitted that all precautions were taken by the offending vehicle. Learned counsel for the appellant further submits that the non-pecuniary compensation be reduced according to the principles laid down in National Insurance Co. Limited vs. Pranay Sethi and Ors. 2017 SCC Online SC1270 5. Learned counsel for the claimants submits that the offending vehicle was parked in the middle of the road without any precautions and therefore, the contributory negligence of the offending vehicle should be taken as 75%. Learned counsel for the claimants further submits that the future prospects be taken into consideration to compute the compensation and the multiplier MAC. APP. 1023/2017, 177-2018 Page 2 of 4 be enhanced 15 to 18 according to the age of the deceased.

6. With respect to the finding of contributory negligence, this Court accepts the findings of the Claims Tribunal holding the deceased to be contributory negligent to the extent of 50%. However, with respect to the computation of compensation, 40% is added as future prospects of the deceased and multiplier is enhanced from 15 to 18 in terms of the principles laid down in National Insurance Co. Limited vs. Pranay Sethi and Ors. (supra). The compensation for loss of love and affection is no more a permissible head and therefore, the compensation awarded by the Claims Tribunal for loss of love and affection is set aside. The compensation towards loss of estate and funeral expenses is reduced to Rs.15,000/- each.

7. Taking the income of the deceased as Rs.6,084/-, adding 40% towards future prospects, deducting
towards his personal expenses, applying the multiplier of 18, the loss of dependency is computed as Rs.9,19,900.80. 50% is deducted towards the contributory negligence of the deceased and Rs.15,000/- is added towards loss of estate and Rs.15,000/- towards funeral expenses. The total compensation to the claimants is computed as Rs.4,89,950.40 rounded off to Rs.4,90,000/- along with interest @ 9% per annum.

8. Both the appeals are partly allowed and the compensation amount is enhanced from Rs.3,86,280/- to Rs.4,90,900/-.

9. The enhanced award amount be deposited by the appellant in MAC.APP.1023/2017 with the Registrar General of this Court within four weeks.

10. List for disbursement of the enhanced compensation amount on 24th July, 2018. MAC. APP. 1023/2017, 177-2018 Page 3 of 4 11. With respect to the amount of Rs.5,40,840/- deposited by the appellant in terms of the award of the Claims Tribunal, Rs.2 lakh have already been disbursed to respondent no.2 and balance amount is lying with State Bank of India, Tis Hazari Courts Branch.

12. State Bank of India is directed to keep Rs.3 lakh in 30 FDRs of Rs.10,000/- each in the name of respondent no.2, Nagina with cumulative interest. The balance amount, after keeping Rs.3 lakh in FDRs, be released to respondents no.1 and 2 in equal shares by transferring the same in their individual savings bank account No.35296841060 and 35296871516 respectively with State Bank of India, Tis Hazari Courts Branch.

13. At the time of maturity, the maturity amount shall be credited in the individual savings bank account of respondent No.2, Nagina.

14. All the original FDRs shall be retained by State Bank of India. However, a statement containing FDR number, FDR amount, date of maturity and the maturity amount shall be provided to respondent No.2.

15. No loan or advance or pre-mature discharge shall be permitted without the permission of this Court.

16. The statutory amount be refunded back to the appellant in MAC.APP.1023/2017 after the deposit of the enhanced award amount.

17. The pending application is disposed of.

18. Copy of this judgment be given dasti to learned counsels for the parties under the signatures of the Court Master. APRIL26 2018 dk J.R.MIDHA, J.

MAC. APP. 1023/2017, 177-2018 Page 4 of 4