IMPORTANT POINT
The court established that minimum wage rates and loss of future prospects must be considered in compensation calculations for fatal accidents under the Motor Vehicles Act.

JUDGMENT :

Satyen Vaidya, J.

Heard.

2. Both these appeals are being decided by a common judgment as these arise from the same award.

3. A bus bearing No. HP-37-0394 owned by the Himachal Road Transport Corporation (for short “ the Corporation”) met with an accident on 10.09.2012 at place Malli in District Kangra, Himachal Pradesh. The ill fated bus went off the road and fell into a gorge. One Sanjay Kumar was an occupant of the bus as a passenger. He suffered multiple injuries in the accident which proved fatal causing death of Shri Sanjay Kumar (hereinafter referred to as the deceased).

4. The appellants in FAO No. 552 of 2019 (hereinafter referred to as “claimants”) filed a petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act (for short “the Act”) for compensation on account of death of deceased, which came to be registered as MACP No. 65-P/II/2013/12 on the files of learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal-IV, Kangra, at Dharamshala camp at Baijnath (hereinafter referred to as the “Tribunal”).

5. The claimants claimed that the deceased was a driver holding licence to drive heavy transport vehicle. He was stated to be working as professional driver earning Rs.15,000/- per month from such avocation. The claimants included four minor children of the deceased besides his wife and parents. They claimed complete dependency on the income of the deceased. The age of the deceased was stated to be 36 years. The cause of accident was attributed to the rash and negligent driving of the driver of the offending bus.

6. The corporation contested the petition. The rash and negligent driver on the part of the driver of the bus was denied. It was submitted that the claimants had been paid ex-gratia amount of Rs.1,50,000/- by the State Government and for such reason they had no surviving cause to claim further compensation.

7. Learned Tribunal has framed the following issues:-

“1) Whether death of Sanjay Kumar in accident has taken place due to rash and negligent driving of the driver of bus No. HP-37-0394, as alleged?OPP

2) Whether the petitioners are entitled for compensation, as alleged?OPP

3) Relief.”

8. Issue No.1 and 2 were decided in affirmative and the claimants were held entitled to compensation in the sum of Rs.13,32,500/-. Learned Tribunal deducted an amount of Rs.1,50,000/- as already received by the claimants from the State Government and thereafter calculated the payable compensation to the claimants at Rs.11,82,500/-. In addition, the claimants were held entitled to interest @ 9% per annum on the awarded amount from the date of filing of petition till actual realization. The apportionment was also made as under:

“Petitioners No.1 to 4: Rs. 1,00,000/-

Petitioner No.5: Rs.6,82,500/-

Petitioner No.6: Rs.1,00,000/-”

Noticeably one of the claimant i.e. father of the deceased had died during the pendency of the petition.

9. The corporation has assailed the award by filing FAO No. 298 of 2018 by contending that the learned Tribunal has not made the calculation in accordance with the settled proposition of law. Learned counsel for the corporation has pointed out that the learned Tribunal has awarded a sum of Rs.1,00,000/- to each of the claimants as loss of consortium, which according to him should have been 40,000/- that too in respect of the wife of the deceased. He has also submitted that even under the heads “loss of estate” and “funeral charges”, learned Tribunal has awarded excess amount.

10. The claimants have also assailed the impugned award by way of FAO No.552 of 2019. They have raised the contention that the deceased was proved to be a professional driver. The assessment of Rs.4500/- per month as income of the deceased by the learned Tribunal was result of surmises and conjecture, whereas even as per the rates fixed by the State Government under the Minimum Wages Act in the year 2012, the minimum wages payable to a skilled worker were Rs.188.98 per day. At the time of hearing, learned counsel for the claimants has placed on record a copy of the