Point of Law: It is settled that legal representatives of deceased have a right to apply for compensation.

JUDGMENT :

Heard Mr. G. Jalan, learned counsel for the appellants. Also heard Ms. S. Roy, learned counsel for the respondent No. 3/ Insurance Company. None has appeared for the respondent Nos. 1 and 2.

2. By filing this appeal the appellants have assailed the impugned judgment and award dated 30-11-2016 passed by the learned Member, MACT No. 2, Kamrup (M) at Guwahati in connection with MAC Case No. 551/2013 whereby the learned Tribunal had awarded compensation on the conventional heads but had ruled that the claimants/ appellants Nos. 1 and 2 were not dependents of the deceased and therefore, were not entitled to claim compensation on account of deprivation of dependence.

3. The facts of the case, in a nutshell, are that late Ispita Chowdhury, i.e. the wife of the appellant No. 1 and the mother of appellant No. 2 had suffered death in a motor accident which took place on 03-03-2013 at about 05:30 p.m. on the NH-37-A while she was travelling on a pillion in a scooty bearing registration number AS-12/G-9769. The speeding truck belonging to the respondent No. 1, being driven in a rash and negligent manner by the respondent No. 2, came from behind and hit the scooty, which had resulted into grievous injury on all the riders leading to death of the victim. It was projected before the learned Tribunal that the deceased was a dynamic young lady, aged about 32 years and at the time of her death, she was an earning member of the family. According to the claimants due to her premature death, the family was plunged into serious financial crisis. The appellant No. 1, i.e. the husband of the deceased had projected himself as a businessman having an earning between Rs. 10,000/- to Rs. 12,000/- per month but the appellant No. 2 Miss Yashashree Chowdhury i.e. the minor daughter of the victim had no income. The defaulting vehicle was insured with the National Insurance Company Ltd. As such, the appellants as claimants had filed the claim petition seeking an amount of Rs. 50,00,000/- (Rupees Fifty Lakhs) as compensation with a further prayer to award a sum of Rs. 50,000/- as no fault liability as per Section 140 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

4. The respondent No. 3 had appeared and contested the claim by filing written statement. However, the claim petition proceeded ex-parte against the respondent Nos. 1 and 2, i.e. the owner and the driver of the vehicle respectively.

5. Based on the pleadings of the parties, the learned Tribunal had framed two issues which are as follows :

I. Whether the victim Ispita Chowdhury died out of the accident which occurred on 03-03-2013 due to vehicle No. AS-02-E-5159 (Truck) and whether the said accident occurred due to rash and negligent driving by the driver of the aforesaid Truck bearing No. AS-02-E-5159?

II. Whether the claimants are entitled to get any compensation, if so to what extent and from whom payable?

6. During trial, the appellants/ claimants had adduced evidence in support of their claim which included the evidence adduced by PW-3 Satyajit Das, i.e. the Income Tax Inspector, Tezpur to show that the deceased was filing income tax return and therefore, was having a decent earning. According to the appellants the gross income of the deceased, as per assessment made in the year 2011-12, was Rs. 2,88,439/-. The respondents, however, did not adduce any evidence.

7. Upon conclusion of the trial, the learned Tribunal had decided the issue No. I in favour of the appellants by holding that the accident occurred on 03-03-2013 due to the fact that the vehicle bearing registration number AS-02-E-5159 was being driven in rash and negligent manner by its driver thereby causing death of the victim Ispita Chowdhury. Accordingly, compensation for a total amount of Rs. 3,25,000/- was awarded to the appellants on the conventional heads. However, insofar as the issue No. II is concerned, the learned Tribunal was of the view that since appellant No. 1, i.e. the husband of the victim was having a monthly income of Rs. 10,000/-