The court applied the Central Motor Vehicles Rules and the Second Schedule to assess compensation for a motor vehicle accident, emphasizing the use of the multiplier method and the deceased's actual income without enhancement for future prospects.

N. P. GUPTA, J.

( 1 ) THE appeal comes up for admission. However, since the claimants have appeared as caveators and vide order dated 18. 3. 2005, record of the court below was ordered to be requisitioned, which has already been received, in that view of the matter, at the request of all the learned counsel for the parties, I have heard the matter finally at this stage itself.

( 2 ) LEARNED Tribunal, by the impugned judgment and award, has accepted the claim petition filed by the respondents-claimants and has passed an award for a sum of Rs. 78,32,000, along with interest at the rate of 9 per cent per annum from the date of claim petition till realisation.

( 3 ) THE facts of the case are, that the claimants filed a claim petition before the learned Tribunal below, alleging inter alia that on 1. 7. 2001 the deceased victim, Rohit was coming from Ganganagar to Bikaner, driving Maruti car No. DL9c-C 4966, at about 10. 30 in the night, when he reached near Shiv Temple in village Mahajan, the military Tatra truck No. 271 t 88-E-8546 came from opposite direction, being driven rashly and negligently and by coming on the wrong side dashed against Maruti car, dragged it and left the road on the wrong side. In this accident, the deceased Rohit expired at the spot. It is alleged that the deceased was possessing academic qualification of M. Com, was 25 years and 9 months of age and just three months before the accident he was allotted a petrol pump by indian Oil Company, in Khara Growth Centre, which was commissioned in the name and style of Dhariwal Petroleum, Khara and was located at the National Highway no. 15. It was then pleaded that within the short span of 3 months itself, the deceased earned a net profit of Rs. 1,78,028 and was expected to grow. Giving the family background, it was pleaded that the grandfather of the deceased was a big businessman, in whose name a showroom is operating in bikaner, being Dhariwal and Company, having turnover of crores, while father of the deceased has a big showroom in Ganganagar, wherein he operates the agencies of big companies like Godrej, Voltas, Salora, etc. and that showroom also has an equal turnover of about one and a half crore. Thus looking to the family background, deceased was expected to rise. It is then pleaded that on account of death of Rohit, the licence of petrol pump has been cancelled. Thus, on these facts, the claim has been lodged for an amount of Rs. 2,19,10,000, giving details, Rs. 2,16,00,000 have been claimed for loss of income, Rs. 1,00,000 for loss of consortium, Rs. 1,00,000 for love and affection and guidance, Rs. 1,00,000 for support to the mother, and Rs. 10,000 for cremation expenditures. The claimants are the widow, minor son aged one and a half years and mother aged 48 years.

( 4 ) A reply has been filed on behalf of all the defendants, mainly denying the averments of the claim and pleading an additional plea that on 1. 7. 2001, Nayak g. S. Gurjar was taking this vehicle Tatra along with trailer towards Suratgarh from loonkaransar, at which time a Maruti came from the opposite direction, being driven at a fast speed and banged in said tatra, inasmuch as it dashed at the joint between Tatra and trailer. It is pleaded that tatra vehicle is 9. 8 metres long and on the trailer being attached to it, its length is about 75 ft. The trailer is attached after 9. 8 metres length of Tatra. It is also pleaded that the width of the trailer is far more than tatra. With these facts it is pleaded that the deceased was young man and was driving the car under the influence of age and thus he could not comprehend the protruding position of the trailer and, therefore, in the process of crossing the vehicle, he could cross Tatra, but could not cross the trailer and banged in. On account of this accident the warning lights of the trailer were also smashed. It was then pleaded that by the time Tatra driver could know of the accident it was much too late, thereafter many peop