$~27 & 28 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI % Date of decision: 28^th November,2024 + MAC.APP. 479/2016 UNITED INDIA INSURANCE CO LTD DRO-II, Crore-III, 1^st Floor, Scope Minar, District Centre, Laxmi Nagar, Delhi .....Appellant Through: Mr. Pankaj Sethi, Advocate.

versus

1. NISHA YADAV W/o Late Shri Satypal Singh .....Respondent No. 1

2. MASTER ANKIT KUMAR S/o Late Shri Satyapal Singh, Through his mother/natural guardian Smt. Nisha Yadav .....Respondent No. 2

3. MASTER ANUJ S/o Late Shri Satypal Singh Through his mother/natural guardian, Smt. Nisha Yadav .....Respondent No. 3

4. BISHAMBHAR DAYAL .....Respondent No. 4

5. RAJBALA W/o Bishambhar Dayal .....Respondent No. 5 All R/o Village Khatela, Rewari, Haryana

6. VIRENDER SINGH S/o Shri Ved Pal, Signature Not Verified DigitallySigned By:VIKAS MAC.APP. 479/2016 & MAC.APP. 110/2018 Page 1 of 13 R/o 195, M.C. Primary School Road, Khaira Village, Delhi .....Respondent No. 6

7. KALYAN SINGH S/o Shri Khem Singh, R/o Village Sugri, P.S. Gangoli, Distt. Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand .....Respondent No. 7 Through: Mr. Arun Yadav, Advocates for R-1 to 5.

28 + MAC.APP. 110/2018, CM APPL. 3401/2018, CM APPL.

3402/2018, CM APPL. 9292/2023

1. NISHA YADAV W/o Late Shri Satypal Singh .....Appellant No. 1

2. MASTER ANKIT KUMAR S/o Late Shri Satyapal Singh, Through his mother/natural guardian Smt. Nisha Yadav .....Appellant No. 2

3. MASTER ANUJ S/o Late Shri Satypal Singh Through his mother/natural guardian, Smt. Nisha Yadav .....Appellant No. 3

4. BISHAMBHAR DAYAL .....Appellant No. 4

5. RAJBALA W/o Bishambhar Dayal .....Appellant No. 5 All R/o Village Khatela, Rewari, Haryana Through: Mr. Arun Yadav, Advocate.

versus Signature Not Verified DigitallySigned By:VIKAS MAC.APP. 479/2016 & MAC.APP. 110/2018 Page 2 of 13

1. VIRENDER SINGH S/o Shri Ved Pal, R/o 195, M.C. Primary School Road, Khaira Village, Delhi .....Respondent No. 1

2. KALYAN SINGH S/o Shri Khem Singh, R/o Village Sugri, P.S. Gangoli, Distt. Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand .....Respondent No. 2

3. UNITED INDIA INSURANCE CO LTD

17-18, SCO HUDA Market, Sector-7, Gurgaon-237614, Haryana .....Respondent No. 3 Through: Mr. Pankaj Seth, Advocate for the R-3.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE NEENA BANSAL KRISHNA J U D G M E N T (oral)

1. An Appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 has been filed on behalf of the Insurance Company against the Impugned Award dated 05.02.2016 vide which a compensation in the sum of Rs. 58,99,000/- along with interest @ 9% has been granted to the Claimants/Respondent Nos. 1 to 5 on account of demise of Shri Satypal Singh in a road accident on

04.11.2014.

2. The basic grounds of challenge are: -

(i) that while calculating the income of the deceased who was a constable in Delhi Police, benefit of Rs.20,217/- per annum and of Signature Not Verified DigitallySigned By:VIKAS MAC.APP. 479/2016 & MAC.APP. 110/2018 Page 3 of 13 Bonus in the sum of Rs.3454/- has been added, which was liable to be deducted;

(ii) that admittedly the family of deceased received ex-gratia payment of Rs.10,00,000/-, which was liable to be deducted while computing the income;

(iii) that family pension of Rs. 7050/- has been granted to the family members, which was liable to be deducted while calculating loss of income;

(iv) that the compensation under the non-pecuniary heads needs to be revised in the light of judgment of National Insurance Co. Ltd. v.

Pranay Sethi, (2017) 16 SCC 680; and (v) that the interest granted @ 9% per annum is on the higher side.

3. The cross Appeal MAC.APP. 110/2018 under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicle Act, 1988 has also been filed by the Claimants who have sought enhancement of the compensation on the ground that various allowances like Washing, Transport, etc. forms part of the salary and the same have been incorrectly deducted while calculating the salary of the deceased.

4. It is further submitted that PW-2/Shri Satpal, ASI had been examined by the Claimants who has proved not only the annual payment of Rs.20,217/-, but also of the Bon