Ex gratia payments made to accident victims or their families are not intended to benefit the wrongdoer and should not be deducted from the compensation awarded.

1. In an accident between a car (UPD-6196) coming from Pinjore to Chandigarh and a truck (PUP 1817) proceeding in the opposite direction, Shri Manohar Lal Chopra, Project Officer, Haryana Tourism Corporation, who was travelling in the car, received serious injuries to which he later succumbed on being brought to the hospital. This accident took place at about midnight on the night intervening May 28/29, 1975.

2. A claim for compensation was put-forth by the widow and the six children of Shri Manohar Lal Chopra, deceased, against both the car driver as also the truck driver and their respective owners and Insurance Company, with which the vehicles had been insured. It was the finding of the Tribunal that the accident here had been caused by the negligence of both the car driver as also the truck driver. A sum of Rs. 30,110.00 was awarded to the claimants as compensation with both the car driver, owner and Insurance Company as also the truck driver, owner and Insurance Company being held jointly and severally liable for the payment thereof.

3. Enhancement of the amount awarded as compensation is the claim put-forth in appeal by the claimants; while the other matter which arises for determination in this appeal is with regard to the liability of the Insurance Company with which the car stood insured on the date of the accident.

4. It stands established from the evidence on record that Shri Manohar Lal Chopra, deceased, was 45 years of age at the time of his death. He died leaving behind his widow Smt. Raj Chopra, who was about 43 years of age at the time of her husband s death and six children, three of whom were minors. The others being two married daughters and a serving son.

5. As has been mentioned earlier Shri Manohar Lal Chopra was Project Officer in Haryana Tourism Corporation. According to P.W. 5 Nigahi Ram Manager-cum-Accountant of the Red Beer Bar, Panchkula, the total emoluments of the deceased, when he was working in Haryana Tourism Corporation were Rs. 1046/50 p.; while his net pay after deductions was Rs. 729/- per month. P. W. 3 Shri D. N. Goyal, Accountant in the Rehabilitation Department, Haryana deposed that at the time of his death, Shri Manohar Lal Chopra s total emoluments were Rs. 1178/70 p. This evidence would show that after deductions the amount that the deceased brought home was little over Rs. 700.00 per month. Part of the deduction made from his salary was on account of Provident Fund which of course constituted savings which would come to the estate of the deceased.

6. Compensation payable to the claimants has to be assessed keeping in view the principles laid down by the Full Bench in Lachhman Singh V/s. Gurmit Kaur, (1979) 81 Punj LR 1 : (AIR 1979 Punj and Har 50). The circumstances of the deceased namely, his age, employment and emoluments, being as set out above and the claimants being a young widow and three minor children besides three others, there is no escape from the conclusion that 16 is the appropriate multiplier to be applied here. Keeping the relevant imponderables in view as also the amount that the deceased would have spent upon himself out of his earnings, it would be fair and just to compute the loss at the rate of Rs. 7200.00 per annum. So computed the compensation payable to the claimants would work out to Rs. 1,15,200.00 .

7. Besides this, the claimants would also be entitled to Rs. 3,000.00 as funeral expenses which stands established by the unrebutted testimony of P.W. 4 Smt. Raj Chopra. As a round figure, therefore, the claimants must be held entitled to a sum of Rs. 1,18,000.00 .

8. A contention was raised by Mr. V. P. Gandhi, counsel for the Insurance Company, with which the truck had been insured that as Rs. 10,000.00 had been paid to the claimants as ex gratia payment on account of this accident, this sum be deducted from the compensation payable. He sought to rely upon the judgment of the Full Bench in Bhagat Singh Sohan Singh V/s. Om Sharma, 1983 Acc CJ 203 : (AIR