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FA/2940/2010 3/ 3 ORDER
IN
THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
FIRST
APPEAL No. 2940 of 2010
=========================================================
REVABEN
DHULABHAI WAGHELA & 1 - Appellant(s)
Versus
PUNAMBHAI
RAIJIBHAI JADAV & 2 - Defendant(s)
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Appearance
:
MR
HIREN M MODI for
Appellant(s) : 1 - 2.
None for Defendant(s) : 1 -
3.
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CORAM
:
HONOURABLE
MR.JUSTICE KS JHAVERI
Date
: 18/11/2010
ORAL
ORDER
By
way of present appeal, the appellants have prayed for modifying the
judgment and award dated 06th March 2010 passed by the
Motor Accident Claim Tribunal, Vadodara in Motor Accident Claim
Petition No.136 of 2004 and allowing further compensation of
Rs.2,00,000/- as well as direct the respondents to deposit the
amount so awarded.
It
is the case of the appellant in brief that in a vehicular accident,
Dhulabhai Waghela-husband of appellant No.1, sustained serious
injuries on the vital parts of his body and he succumbed to death.
The appellants prayed for compensation of Rs.6,00,000/- by way of
filing Motor Accident Claim Petition, whereby the Motor Accident
Claim Tribunal partly allowed the claim of the appellants. Hence,
present appeal challenging the judgment and award to the extent of
not allowing the claim of the appellants in toto.
Mr.Hiren
Modi, learned advocate for the appellants, has submitted that the
Tribunal erred in considering the income of the deceased as
Rs.1500/- instead of Rs.3000/- per month; that the Tribunal ought
not to have applied the ratio of notional income; that the Tribunal
has erred in not appreciating the fact that the deceased was working
in L&T Company; that the Tribunal ought to have considered the
prospective income of the deceased as Rs.4500/- instead of Rs.3000/-
and even the multiplier of 15 ought to have been applied in the
present case. In view above submissions, it is prayed that the
appeal may be allowed.
Having
considered the contentions raised by the learned counsel for the
appellants, averments made in the appeal and the documentary
evidence produced on record, it transpires that the Tribunal after
taking into consideration all the relevant documents and evidence on
record has partly allowed the petition filed by the appellants. It
is required to be noted that though the deceased was working a
Public Limited Company, no documentary evidence is produced by the
appellants on record to show the same. Hence, the Tribunal has
rightly considered the notional income of the deceased as
Rs.15,000/- per annum. Further, it is required to be noted that even
the Tribunal has not deducted 1/3rd expenses from the
annual income. Thus, it transpires that the prospective income is
included in the said amount. The Tribunal has awarded the said
amount after taking into consideration the evidence produced on
record by the appellants.
4.1 So
far as the contention of the appellants as to applicability of
multiplier is concerned, it is required to be noted that in the
Postmortem Note itself it is mentioned that the deceased was aged 45
years. Further, no documentary evidence is produced by the appellants
as to the age of the deceased. Thus, the Tribunal has applied the
multiplier of 13 looking to the fact that the deceased would have
worked for further 13 years in the said company.
In
view of aforesaid, I am of the opinion that the view taken by the
Tribunal is just and proper. The Tribunal has assigned cogent and
convincing reasons for arriving at the conclusion. Over and above
the reasons assigned hereinabove, I adopt the reasons assigned by
the Tribunal and do not find any illegality much less any perversity
in the findings recorded. I am in complete agreement with the
findings recorded by the Tribunal. No case is made out to interfere
with the findings recorded by the Tribunal. Hence, present appeal
deserves to be dismissed.
For
the foregoing reasons, present appeal fails and is, accordingly,
dismissed summarily.
(K.S.
Jhaveri, J)
Aakar
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