Income Tax Returns are valid statutory documents for determining deceased's income in compensation cases, mandating their consideration for accurate compensation calculations.

JUDGMENT :

B.P. Routray, J.

1. Heard Mr. A.K. Otta, learned counsel for the claimant – Appellants and Ms. R. Pati, learned counsel for insurer – Respondent No.1.

2. Present appeal by the claimants is directed against the impugned judgment dated 29^th August, 2016 of leaned 1^st Additional District Judge-cum-1^st MACT, Cuttack passed in MAC No.695 of 2013, wherein compensation to the tune of Rs.8,20,000/- along with interest @ 7% per annum from the date of filing of the claim application, i.e. 5^th November 2013 has been granted on account of death of deceased Debasis Rana in the motor vehicular accident dated 8^th October 2013.

3. Mr. Otta, learned counsel submits on behalf of the Appellants that learned tribunal has failed to appreciate actual income of the deceased at the time of his death and copy of the I.T. return produced to that effect was discarded illegally.

4. The deceased was aged about 30 years on the date of accident. The negligence on the part of the driver of the offending vehicle, i.e. truck bearing registration number OR-21-C-5134 and the liability on the insurer to indemnify the compensation amount, are never disputed. It is the consistent case of the claimants that the deceased was owner of a truck and earning Rs.28,000/- per month. He filed the I.T. return for the Assessment Year 2012-13 showing his income at Rs.3,38,400/- per annum. He has also paid income tax amounting to Rs.927/- for the Assessment Year 2012-13. These documents have been produced under Ext.10 and Ext.11. The copy of the RC book standing in the name of the deceased has also been filed under Ext.12. But the tribunal discarded such contentions of the claimants holding that the claimants have failed to produce copies of I.T. returns for three consecutive years and therefore, their contentions are not believable. Then the tribunal took notional income of the deceased at Rs.5000/- per month. This approach of the tribunal appears erroneous and is disapproved by this court.

5. Admittedly the insurer did not adduce any rebuttal evidence to disbelieve the contention of the claimants with regard to income of the deceased. When the contention of claimants that the deceased had income of Rs.28,000/- per month was left unrebutted, and they filed the IT return in support of the same as well as the copy of RC book of the truck owned by the deceased, no reason is found to disbelieve the same. The Hon’ble Supreme Court in Smt Anjali & Ors Vs- Lokendra Rathod & Ors, 2022 Live Law (SC) 1012, while dealing with a case of similar nature have held as follows:-

“9. The Tribunal and the High Court both committed grave error while estimating the deceased’s income by disregarding the Income Tax Return of the Deceased. The appellants had filed the Income Tax Return (2009-2010) of the deceased, which reflects the deceased’s annual income to be Rs.1,18,261/-, approx. Rs.9,855/- per month. This Court in Malarvizhi & Ors. v. United India Insurance Co. Ltd. & Ors., (2020) 4 SCC 228 has reaffirmed that the Income Tax Return is a statutory document on which reliance be placed, where available, for computation of annual income. In Malarvizhi (supra) this Court has laid as under:

“10….. We are in agreement with the High Court that the determination must proceed on the basis of the income tax return, where available. The income tax return is a statutory document on which reliance may be placed to determine the annual income of the deceased.”

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6. In the instant case, it is the further contention of the claimants and has been stated by P.W.1, the widow, that the truck owned by the deceased was sold after his death to meet the loan liability in respect of the same. When the I.T. return was filed by the deceased