TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (9) TMI 2160
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....arh Road. A Renault car bearing Registration No. HR­02­ AB­4646 driven by Respondent No.3, came from the side, and hit the motorcycle driven by the deceased. The accident was witnessed by Mr. Rakesh Kumar. As a result of the accident, the deceased fell and sustained multiple injuries. He was taken to the Government Hospital, Naraingarh from where he was referred to PGI, Chandigarh. On 02.12.2013 the victim was taken to Government Hospital, Panchkula where the doctors declared him dead. On the same day, F.I.R. No. 337 was registered at Police Station, Naraingarh on the statement of Mr. Rakesh Kumar who was an eye­witness to the accident. 3. The father, brother, and sister of the deceased filed Claim Petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 before the Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal, Yamuna Nagar ("hereinafter referred to as MACT") praying for compensation of Rs. 50,00,000 along with Interest from the date of the accident till the date of realization. Mr. Rakesh Kumar, the eye­witness was examined before the MACT. He deposed stated that the accident occurred due to the rash and negligent driving of Respondent No. 3. The MACT after c....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
.... ii. Future prospects at 50% of (i): Rs. 3,000 per month iii. Total Income: Rs. 9,000 iv. Deduction of personal expenses: Rs. 3,000 (i.e. 1/3rd of total income) v. Multiplier: 18 (as per age of deceased) vi. Loss of future income: Rs. 12,96,000 [i.e. (9,000 - 3,000) x 12 x 18] vii. Loss of love and affection: Rs. 1,00,000 (i.e. Rs. 50,000 each) viii. Funeral expenses: Rs. 25,000 Total Compensation awarded: Rs. 14,21,000 with interest @ 9% from the date of filing the claim petition till realization. The amount was held to be payable jointly and severally by the Appellant - Insurance Company and Respondent No. 3. 5. Aggrieved by the Order of the High Court, the Insurance Company filed the present S.L.P. before this Court, praying for setting­aside the judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court. 6. We have heard learned Counsel for the parties, and perused the record. The principal grounds on which the S.L.P. has been filed by the Insurance Company are: i. The High Court has erroneously awarded 50% towards Future Prospects, even though as per the judgment of this Court in National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Set....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....rac12;, and not 1/3rd, since the deceased was a bachelor. This issue has been dealt with in paragraph 32 of the judgment in Sarla Verma (supra) wherein this Court took the view that where the family of the bachelor is large and dependent on the income of the deceased, as in a case where he has a widowed mother and large number of younger non­earning sisters or brothers, his personal and living expenses may be restricted to one­third, as contribution to the family will be taken as two­third. Considering that the deceased was living in a village, where he was residing with his aged father who was about 65 years old, and Respondent No. 2 ­an unmarried sister, the High Court correctly considered them to be dependents of the deceased, and made a deduction of 1/3rd towards personal expenses of the deceased. The judgment of the High Court is, therefore, affirmed on this count. 8.3. With respect to the income of the deceased, as the family could not produce any evidence to show that the income of the deceased was Rs. 15,000 per month, as claimed, the High Court took his income to be Rs. 6,000, which is marginally above the minimum wage of an unskilled worker at ....
X X X X Extracts X X X X
X X X X Extracts X X X X
....e of our power under Article 142, and in the interests of justice, we deem it appropriate to award an amount of Rs. 15,000 towards Loss of Estate to Respondent Nos. 1 and 2. 10 8.7 A Constitution Bench of this Court in Pranay Sethi (supra) dealt with the various heads under which compensation is to be awarded in a death case. One of these heads is Loss of Consortium. In legal parlance, "consortium" is a compendious term which encompasses 'spousal consortium', 'parental consortium', and 'filial consortium'. The right to consortium would include the company, care, help, comfort, guidance, solace and affection of the deceased, which is a loss to his family. With respect to a spouse, it would include sexual relations with the deceased spouse. Rajesh and Ors. vs. Rajbir Singh and Ors. (2013) 9 SCC 54 Spousal consortium is generally defined as rights pertaining to the relationship of a husband­wife which allows compensation to the surviving spouse for loss of "company, society, co­operation, affection, and aid of the other in every conjugal relation." BLACK'S LAW DICTIONARY (5th ed. 1979) Parental consortium is granted to the child upon the premature death of a....