The court considered the principles of compensation under motor accident laws and the liability of a minor in a motor accident case.

1. The appellant has challenged the award of the Claims Tribunal whereby compensation of Rs.11, 49,556/- has been awarded to claimants/respondents No.1 to 6.

2. The accident dated 01st June, 2008 resulted in the death of Om Prakash. The deceased was 54 years of age at the time of accident and was working as a cart-seller. The Claims Tribunal took minimum wages as income of the deceased, added 30% towards inflation, deducted 1/3rd towards his personal expenses and applied the multiplier of 11 to compute the loss of dependency of Rs.4,79,556/-.

The Claims Tribunal awarded Rs.25,000/-towards medical expenses, Rs.6,00,000/-towards loss of love and affection, Rs.10,000/-towards loss of consortium, Rs.10,000/-towards loss of estate and Rs.25,000/-towards funeral expenses. The total compensation awarded is Rs.11,49,556/-

3. Learned counsel for the appellant urged at the time of hearing of this appeal that the compensation awarded under the heads of loss of love and affection be reduced to Rs.1 lakh; the addition of 30% towards inflation be set aside, and the recovery rights be given to the appellant as the offending vehicle was being driven by a minor.

4. Learned counsel for the respondents submits that compensation awarded under the head of loss of consortium be enhanced.

5. This Court is of the view that the compensation awarded under the head of loss of love and affection warrants reduction. The compensation of loss of love and affection is reduced from Rs.6,00,000/- to Rs.2,00,000/-. The compensation awarded under the head of loss of consortium is enhanced from Rs.10,000/- to Rs.1,00,000/-. There is no infirmity in addition of 30% towards inflation on the minimum wages. The offending vehicle was driven by a minor at the time of accident and, therefore, the appellant is granted recovery rights against respondents No.7 and 8.

6. The appeal is allowed and the award amount is reduced from Rs.11,49,556/- to Rs.8,39,556/-along with interest @ 9% per annum from date of filing of petition. As the driver of offending vehicle was minor at the time of the accident, the appellant are granted recovery rights to recover the award amount from respondents no.7 and 8.

7. The appellant has deposited Rs.18,55,068/-with the Registrar General of this Court which is lying in fixed deposit.

8. The appellants are entitled to Rs.8,59,556/-along with interest thereon which as on today comes to Rs.14,49,005/-and the balance amount of Rs.4,06,063/-is to be refunded to the appellant, as per the calculation done by the Accounts Officer of this Court. The Registrar General is directed to instruct UCO Bank, Delhi High Court Branch to refund Rs.4,06,063/-as well as the statutory amount to the appellant.

9. The Registrar General is further directed to instruct UCO Bank to disburse Rs.14,49,005/-by keeping Rs.13 lakh in FDRs in the following manner:

10. The balance, amount after keeping Rs.13,00,000/-in FDRs, be released to respondents No.1 to 6 by transferring the same to their individual savings bank accounts in equal shares.

11. The monthly interest on the FDRs of the respondents shall be credited to their individual savings bank accounts.

Sr. No.	Duration of FDR	Resp. 1 Widow (in Rs.)	Resp. 2 Son (in Rs.)	Resp. 3 Son (in Rs.)	Resp. 4 Daughter (in Rs.)	Resp. 5 Daughter (in Rs.)	Resp. 6 Daughter (in Rs.)
1.	1 yr	1,00,000/-	40,000/-	40,000/-	40,000/-	40,000/-	40,000/-
2.	2 yrs	1,00,000/-	40,000/-	40,000/-	40,000/-	40,000/-	40,000/-
3.	3 yrs	1,00,000/-	40,000/-	40,000/-	40,000/-	40,000/-	40,000/-
4.	4 yrs	1,00,000/-	-	-	-	-	-
5.	5 yrs	1,00,000/-	-	-	-	-	-
6.	6 yrs	1,00,000/-	-	-	-	-	-
7.	7 yrs	1,00,000/-	-	-	-	-	-
TOTAL		7,00,000/-	1,20,000/-	1,20,000/-	1,20,000/-	1,20,000/-	1,20,000/-