Basant, J. –

Is the benefit under Section 163 A of the Motor Vehicles Act unavailable to persons earning income exceeding Rs.40,000/- per annum?

This is the short question arising for consideration in this appeal.

2. Claimants are the dependents/legal heirs of a deceased person. They claimed compensation under Sections 166 and 163 A of the Motor Vehicles Act without specifying the precise nature of the claim in the claim petition. The deceased was admittedly earning an income of Rs.6,200/- per mensem. When the matter reached the stage of trial, the claimants specified that they are staking the claim under Section 163 A of the Motor Vehicles Act and that they are limiting the claim to what would be payable if the deceased were a person getting an annual income of Rs.40,000/-. The Tribunal accepted the request and computed compensation payable under Section 163 A of the Motor Vehicles Act reckoning the deceased to be a person having an annual income of Rs.40,000/-.

3. The learned counsel for the appellant/insurer submits that the court below could not have considered the claim under Section 163 A even assuming that the claimant had agreed to limit its claim to compensat