The main legal point established in the judgment is the interpretation of evidence in determining compensation for loss of dependency and the applicability of income tax deduction, as supported by the judgment of National Insurance Company Limited v. Pranay Sethi & Ors., (2017) 16 SCC 680.

JUDGMENT

Navin Chawla, J. (Oral) CM APPL. 5266/2019

1. This application already stands withdrawn vide order dated 13.09.2019. The same shall not be shown in the cause list any further.

CM APPL. 37991/2018

2. This is an application seeking condonation of 26 days delay in filing the appeal.

3. For the reasons stated in the application, the delay is condoned. The application is allowed.

MAC.APP. 836/2018 & CM APPL. 37989/2018

4. This appeal has been filed challenging the Award dated 21.05.2018 passed by the learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (North-West) District, Rohini Courts, Delhi (hereinafter referred to as the `Tribunal') in MAC Petition no.240/2017 titled Ram Bahadur Singh & Ors. v. Sh. Pappu & Ors..

5. The limited challenge of the appellant to the Impugned Award is on the determination of the compensation under the head of the `loss of dependency' in favour of the claimants/respondent nos.1 to 3 herein.

6. The learned counsel for the appellant submits that the learned Tribunal has erred in awarding the loss of dependency in favour of the claimants by taking the salary of the deceased Sh. Krishan Kant at Rs.35,000/- per month. He submits that there was no reliable evidence placed on record by the claimants in support of their claim of the salary of the deceased.

7. He draws my attention to the documents, that is, the appointment letter dated 25.09.2015, and a Certificate dated 31.08.2016 (Ex.PW1/3) (colly 3), to submit that these documents, on the face, appear to be fabricated for the purposes of the claim petition. He submits that though the claimants examined Sh.S.P.Sharma (PW-2), who claimed himself to be the partner in M/s Amba Glass, where the deceased was purportedly working, the said witness also produced only an alleged Salary Certificate as a proof of the salary paid to the deceased; there was no proof of payment of the salary produced by the claimants; the claimants had also not filed the income tax returns or the bank account statement showing the credit of the salary in the account of the deceased. He submits that therefore, there was no evidence on record on the basis of which the learned Tribunal could have assessed the income of the deceased at Rs.35,000/- per month.

8. On the other hand, the learned counsel for the respondent no.2 submits that the claimants had produced before the learned Tribunal, the certificate showing the salary of the deceased as also the appointment letter of the deceased, issued by his employer-M/s Amba Glass. Mr.S.P.Sharma (PW-2), the partner in M/s Amba Glass, had also appeared as a witness before the learned Tribunal, and affirmed that the deceased was drawing a salary of Rs.45,000/- per month inclusive of conveyance charges at Rs.10,000/- per month. He submits that barring putting to the witness that the said documents were fabricated, the appellant herein was not able to challenge the documents produced by the claimants in support of their claim of the salary of the deceased.

9. I have considered the submissions made by the learned counsels for the parties.

10. Though it cannot be disputed that the initial onus of proof of income of the deceased would lie on the claimants, in the present case, in my opinion, the claimants were able to discharge the said onus of proof by producing before the learned Tribunal not only the documents in form of the appointment letter and the certificate of salary but also in form of PW-2 who claimed himself to be the partner of M/s Amba Glass, that is the employer of the deceased. In the cross-examination, barring putting the suggestion to the witness that the document produced is fabricated, no other confrontation to the witness was made by the appellant.

11. It may be true that the claimants should have ideally produced further evidence in form of the Bank Account Statement of the deceased, his income tax certificates, among other documents, to further prove the income of the deceased, however, in the absence of a real challenge by the