A realistic approach must be adopted in assessing the deceased's income when there is no documentary proof, and oral testimony can be relied upon to determine the income and dependency of the claimants.

V.S.Aggarwal, J.

1. This is an appeal preferred by Sona Rani and others, hereinafter described as the appellants and directed against the award of the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Kurukshetra, dated 6.1.1994. By virtue of the impugned award, the learned Claims Tribunal awarded Rs. 1,28,640 in favour of the claimants with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from the date of filing of the petition till realisation and it was apportioned as under:

(1)

Sona Rani (claimant No. 1)

Rs. 25,728

(2)

Baljit Singh, minor son (claimant No. 2)

Rs. 25,728

(3)

Gurmeet Kaur, minor daughter (claimant No. 3)

Rs. 25,728

(4)

Rajwant Kaur, minor daughter (claimant No. 4)

Rs. 25,728

(5)

Inderjit Singh, minor son (claimant No. 5)

Rs. 25,728

(ii) Besides the aforesaid amount, the claimants shall also be entitled to proportionate costs and interest in terms of the award."

2. The relevant facts alleged by the appellants-claimants are that on 6.4.1993 Gurdial Singh and his wife Jaswant Kaur were travelling in a three-wheeler No. HR 07-9384 driven by Dinesh Kumar. They were coming from the side of Kurukshetra to Pipli. There were also other persons travelling therein. When the three-wheeler reached near Police Lines, Kurukshetra, a Haryana Roadways bus bearing registration No. HR 07-A 3076 driven by Chand Singh, respondent No. 1, crossed the three-wheeler. The driver of the bus took the bus to the wrong side and dashed against the three-wheeler. It was crushed. Gurdial Singh and Jaswant Kaur succumbed to the injuries. Compensation of Rs. 5,00,000 was claimed.

3. In the written statement, it was denied that there was any rash or negligent driving by the bus driver.

4. The learned Tribunal had framed the issues and held that the driver of the bus was driving the same in a rash and negligent manner. The income of the deceased was taken to be Rs. 1,000, 1/3rd was deducted as personal expenses and dependency was taken at Rs. 670 per month. After applying the multiplier of 16, the compensation referred to above was awarded. The appellants claimed enhancement of compensation.

5. The matter was referred to the Lok Adalat. The Lok Adalat suggested the compensation of Rs. 1,97,000 but it was being objected to by the respondents and, therefore, the respondents were granted the opportunity to file objections.

6. In the objections filed on behalf of respondent Nos. 2 and 3, it was pointed out that the proposed compensation is excessive and, therefore, they were not agreeable to what was suggested by the Lok Adalat.

7. The short question that comes up for consideration is as to whether the compensation awarded by the Claims Tribunal is adequate or not? It has transpired in evidence that the appellants have failed to prove that the deceased was earning Rs. 4,000 per month. He was cart-plier. The learned Tribunal had taken the income to be Rs. 1,000 per month. We know from the decision of this court in the case of United India Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Raj Rani, 1998 ACJ 175 (P&H), that even when there is no documentary proof of income, the claim cannot be rejected. Necessarily, a realistic approach had to be adopted. The findings of this court are as under:

"No doubt, the claimants could not produce any documentary evidence to prove the monthly income of the deceased but the witnesses examined by the claimants orally proved the monthly income of the deceased. In every claim case it is not feasible for the claimants to adduce any documentary evidence with regard to the monthly income of the deceased. The deceased was doing the business of selling footwear. If no documentary evidence is adduced with regard to his monthly income, it cannot be said that the evidence adduced by the claimants to prove this fact was unreliable and unbelievable. Scanning the evidence on record, the Claims Tribunal assessed the monthly income of the deceased at Rs. 1,500. One-third is deducted on account of personal expenses of the deceased and dependency of the claimants is de