Advocates:
Advocate Appeared:
For the Appellant :Mr. Sanjeev K. Arora, Advocate
For the Respondent:Mr. Yogesh Gupta, Advocate

JUDGMENT :

Alka Sarin, J.

The present order shall dispose off both the above-captioned appeals - one being FAO-5166-2018 filed by the Insurance Company challenging the quantum of compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Narnaul (hereinafter referred to as 'Tribunal') vide award dated 26.04.2018 and second being FAO-6426-2018 filed by the claimants for enhancement of compensation.

2. Learned counsel for the Insurance Company would contend that the deceased in the present case was a bachelor and 24 years of age and hence deduction ought to have been 50% instead of 1/3rd as applied by the Tribunal. It is further the contention of the learned counsel for the Insurance Company that the income of the deceased ought to have been assessed as per the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.

3. Per contra, the learned counsel for the claimants would contend that the income of the deceased has rightly been assessed by the Tribunal as Rs.11,840/- per month keeping in view the fact that the deceased was 24 years of age at the time of the accident and had completed his BA (Bachelor of Arts) and he had a bright future ahead. It is further the contention of the learned counsel that deduction of 1/3rd as well as multiplier of '18' has also rightly been applied. However, no addition has been made towards future prospects which ought to have been 40% keeping in view the age of the deceased being 24 years. It is further the contention of the learned counsel that no amount has been awarded under the head 'loss of consortium' and further that the amount awarded under the conventional heads is also not in consonance with the judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court. In support of his contentions, he has relied upon the judgments of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the cases of National Insurance Company Ltd. vs. Pranay Sethi & Ors. [(2017) 16 SCC 680], Magma General Insurance Company Limited vs. Nanu Ram alias Chuhru Ram & Ors. [(2018) 18 SCC 130] and N. Jayasree & Ors. vs. Cholamandalam M.S General Insurance Company Ltd. [2021(4) RCR (Civil) 642].

4. I have heard the learned counsel for the parties.

5. In the present case the Tribunal had awarded the following compensation :

Sr. No.	Heads	Compensation Awarded
1	Monthly Income	Rs. 11,840/-
2	Annual Income	[Rs. 1 l,840xl2]=Rs. 1,42,080/-
3	Deduction l/3rd	[Rs.1,42,080-47,360]=Rs.94,720/-
4	Multiplier - 18	[Rs.94,720xl8]=Rs. 17,04,960/-
5	Loss of estate	Rs. 15,000/-
6	Funeral expenses	Rs. 15,000/-
7	Total Compensation	Rs. 17,34,960/-
	Interest	9%

6. The argument of the learned counsel for the Insurance Company that the income ought to have been assessed as per the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 deserves to be rejected. In the case of Shri Ram General Insurance Company Ltd. & Ors. vs. Beant Kaur & Ors. [2019 (3) SCT 684] a detailed discussion has been made on the applicability of the minimum wages prescribed as per the Minimum Wages Act, 1948 as well as the case law applicable thereto. In para 15 it has been held as under :

"15. It has been held in a plethora of judgements by the Hon'ble Supreme Court that it is the duty of the tribunal/Court to award 'just compensation'. Motor Vehicles Act is admittedly a beneficial legislation, therefore to circumscribe the scope of assessment of income of the deceased/injured to the minimum wages as may be notified under the Minimum Wages Act would not be justified. Needless to say, assessment of income in cases where no specific documentary evidence is led in support of the claim, such assessment would be dependent upon the facts and circumstances of each case. There may be instances where oral evidence alongwith other supporting evidence on record may inspire confidence. There has to be a sound evaluation of the oral evidence and supporting circumstances in the factual matrix of each particular case. The Tribunal/Court while keeping in view the minimum wage fixed under the Minimum Wages Act as the basic criterion at the outset would proceed to determine whether income of the deceased/injured is to be assesse