RAMRAO LALA BORSE AND ANRversusNEW INDIA ASSURANCE COMPANY LTD. AND ANR

190                      [2018]REPORTS
               SUPREME COURT    1 S.C.R. 190                 [2018] 1 S.C.R.


A                    RAMRAO LALA BORSE AND ANR
                                         v.
           NEW INDIA ASSURANCE COMPANY LTD. AND ANR
                      (Civil Appeal No. 418 of 2018)
B                           JANUARY 19, 2018
             [DIPAK MISRA, CJI, A. M. KHANWILKAR AND
                    DR. D. Y. CHANDRACHUD, JJ.]
            Motor Vehicles Act, 1988:
            s.166 – Fatal accident of a 29 years old bachelor – Claim for
C     compensation by his parents (agd 65 and 50 years) – Tribunal, on
      the basis of age of the deceased adopted multiplier of 17 and
      awarded compensation – High Court reduced the compensation
      amount, adopting multiplier of 7 on the basis of the age of claimants
      – Appeal by the claimants – Held: The correct multiplier to be applied
D     in the present case would be 17, having regard to the age of the
      deceased – Compensation amount enhanced accordingly.
               Appellants-claimants filed petition u/s. 166 of Motor Vehicles
      Act, 1988 claiming compensation for the death of their son in a motor
      accident. Trial Court using multiplier of 17 having regard to the age of
      the deceased (29 years) awarded compensation of Rs.61,20,000/- and
E
      added further sum of Rs.35,000/- under conventional heads. Interest
      was awarded at 9% p.a. High Court adopted multiplier of 7 on the basis
      of age of the claimants (65 and 50) and reduced the compensaton amount
      to Rs.26,45,000/- with interst @ 9% p.a. Hence the present appeal by
      the claimants.
F
            Allowing the appeal, the Court
            HELD: The correct multiplier to be applied in the present
      case would be 17 having regard to the age of the deceased. As
      regards future prospects, an addition of 50 percent would be
      warranted. On the above basis and making a deduction of 50
G     percent towards personal expenses (the deceased being a
      bachelor), the total compensation would stand quantified at Rs
      61,20,000/-. After making an addition on account of conventional
      heads, the total compensation would stand computed at Rs
      61,90,000/-. The aforesaid amount shall carry interest @ 9% p.a.
H
                                        190
     RAMRAO LALA BORSE v. NEW INDIA ASSURANCE                             191
                  COMPANY LTD.

from the date of the filing of the claim petition. Apportionment          A
shall be carried out in terms of the award of the Tribunal. [Para
8][193-G; 194-A-B]
        National Insurance Company Limited v. Pranay Sethi
        (2017) 13 SCALE 12 - followed.
        Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation [2009] 5               B
        SCR 1098 : (2009) 6 SCC 121 - relied on.
                          Case Law Reference
         (2017) 13 SCALE 12         followed             Para 8
         [2009] 5 SCR 1098          relied on            Para 8           C
        CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 418 of
2018.
      From the Judgment and Order dated 23.10.2015 by the High Court
of Judicature at Bombay in First Appeal No. 724 of 2015.
                                                                          D
        Anand Mishra, Amrendra Kumar Singh, Advs. for the Appellants.
        Rajesh Kumar Gupta, Adv. for the Respondents.
        The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
      DR. D. Y. CHANDRACHUD, J., 1. The present appeal arises             E
from a judgment and order of a Division Bench of the High Court of
Judicature at Bombay dated 23 October 2015. The High Court has
partly allowed the appeal of the insurer and reduced the award of
compensation by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal from
Rs 61,55,000/- to Rs 26,45,000/-.
                                                                          F
        2. The claim before the Tribunal arose thus:
       On 19 February 2006, Deepak was travelling as a passenger in a
luxury bus on Mumbai-Agra road and was occupying a seat on the driver’s
side. When the bus was at Atgaon in Nashik district, a truck bearing
Registration No.RJ-01-G-6386 came from the opposite direction and
                                                                          G
collided with the bus resulting in grievous injuries to the passengers
including Deepak. Deepak was shifted to the Government hospital at
Nashik where he succumbed to his injuries.
      3. At the time of the accident, the deceased was serving as an
Assistant Teacher in Dadasaheb Dandekar Vidyalaya, a school run by
                                                                          H
192            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                           [2018] 1 S.C.R.


A     Shishu Vihar Education Society. The claimants, who were his parents,
      filed a claim under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988 seeking
      compensation against the owner of the offending truck and the insurer.
      The Tribunal held that the accident was caused due to the rash and
      negligent act of the driver of the offending truck. The Tribunal accepted
      the evidence adduced by the Claimants that had the deceased survived,
B
      he would have been made permanent and would have been entitled to
      the benefit of 6th Pay Commission wages of at least Rs 40,000 per month.
      Adopting a multiplier of 17, the Tribunal awarded compensation of Rs
      61,20,000/- to which it added a further sum of Rs 35,000/- under
      conventional heads. Interest was awarded @9% p.a.
C            4. The High Court, on an analysis of the evidence, confirmed the
      finding of negligence arrived at by the Tribunal. On compensation, the
      High Court noted that the salary certificate (Exh.42) dated 18 March
      2013 indicated that the deceased was working as an Assistant Teacher
      on a temporary basis in the secondary section of Shishu Vihar Education
D     Society between June 2001 and February 2006. The income certificate
      indicated that in February 2006 the deceased was in receipt of a salary
      of Rs 2,800 per month. Another certificate issued by the Headmaster
      on 20 March 2006 (Exh.47) indicated the same position.
              5. The case of the claimants rested on the premise that the
E     deceased was likely to be made permanent in which event, he would be
      entitled to a higher salary. PW 3, who was the Secretary of the Trust,
      deposed that though the strength of the students had increased, and the
      workload had increased, persons such as the deceased continued in
      service on a contract basis for want of sanction from the government
      for the post. The High Court observed that the evidence of PW 3 was
F     that if the government were to sanction the post, considering the seniority
      and experience of the deceased, the Trust would have appointed him as
      a permanent teacher in which event his salary, according to the scales
      of the 6th Pay Commission, would have been Rs 40,000 per month. The
      finding was that the deceased at the relevant time was 29 years of age;
G     that he had completed his B.Ed. from the University of Mumbai and
      was an Assistant Teacher employed on a temporary/contract basis for
      teaching English from 2001 to 2006. The High Court adverted to the
      provisions contained in the Maharashtra Employees of Private Schools
      (Conditions of Service) Regulation Act, 1977. In this background, the
      High Court arrived at the finding that if the deceased were to be alive,
H
       RAMRAO LALA BORSE v. NEW INDIA ASSURANCE                               193
        COMPANY LTD. [DR. D. Y. CHANDRACHUD, J.]

he would have been regularized and would have drawn a salary of Rs            A
40,000/- per month. The High Court held that an addition of 50 per cent
on account of future prospects ought to have been made. However, the
High Court held that the Tribunal erred in applying a multiplier of 17.
Having regard to the fact that the father of the deceased was 65 years
old in 2006 and his mother was 50 years old, the High Court came to the
                                                                              B
conclusion that a multiplier of 7 should be adopted, taking the average
age of the parents as 61 years. The High Court held that since the
deceased was a bachelor, a deduction of 50 per cent should be made on
account of personal expenses. On the above basis, the High Court
computed the yearly income of the deceased at Rs 4,80,000; enhanced
the income by 50% on the ground of future prospects to Rs 7,20,000,           C
deducted a sum of Rs 3,60,000 towards personal expenses and on the
basis of a multiplier of 7 arrived at a total compensation of Rs 25,20,000.
The amount payable to each of the two claimants for loss of love and
affection was enhanced to Rs 50,000 and funeral expenses of Rs 25,000
were allowed. The High Court has, accordingly, awarded a total
                                                                              D
compensation of Rs 26,45,000 together with interest @ 9% p.a.
      6. The principal ground which has been urged in support of the
appeal is that the High Court erred in applying a multiplier of 7. Since
the age of the deceased at the time of the accident was 29 years, it was
urged that the correct multiplier to be applied would be 17.
                                                                              E
      7. The insurer had challenged the judgment of the High Court
before this Court in Special Leave Petition (C ) No 7717 of 2016. The
Special Leave Petition was dismissed on 25 April 2016. The challenge
of the insurer to the judgment of High Court has hence failed.
Consequently, for the purpose of the present appeal, we will have to
proceed on the basis of the income as accepted by the High Court. The         F
finding of fact in regard to the income of the deceased would not be
challenged in the present appeal, at the behest of the insurer in view of
the above background.
      8. In terms of the judgment of the Constitution Bench of this Court
in National Insurance Company Limited v Pranay Sethi1 and the                 G
judgment in Sarla Verma v Delhi Transport Corporation2, the correct
multiplier to be applied in the present case would be 17 having regard to
the age of the deceased. As regards future prospects, an addition of 50
1
    (2017) 13 SCALE 12
2
    (2009) 6 SCC 121                                                          H
194             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                         [2018] 1 S.C.R.


A     per cent would be warranted. On the above basis and making a deduction
      of 50 per cent towards personal expenses (the deceased being a
      bachelor), the total compensation would stand quantified at Rs 61,20,000/
      -. After making an addition on account of conventional heads, the total
      compensation would stand computed at Rs 61,90,000/-. The aforesaid
      amount shall carry interest @ 9% p.a. from the date of the filing of the
B
      claim petition. Apportionment shall be carried out in terms of the award
      of the Tribunal.
            9. The appeal shall accordingly stand allowed. There shall be no
      order as to costs.
C
      Kalpana K. Tripathy                                         Appeal allowed.




D




E




F




G




H