Kamlesh Yadav vs Siri Bhagwan

IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT

CHANDIGARH

112 FAO-4523-2002 (O&M)

Date of decision :03.11.2026

SMT. KAMLESH YADAV AND OTHERS . .. APPELLANTS
VERSUS
SIRI BHAGWAN AND OTHERS ...RESPONDENTS
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE PARMOD GOYAL
Present: None for the appellants.
Mr. Rahul Pathania, Advocate
for the respondent-Insurance Company.



PARMOD GOYAL, J. (ORAL)


1. Present appeal has been preferred by appellants-claimants being the
wife, three children and parents of Rambir Yadav (hereinafter referred to as
‘deceased’) seeking enhancement in compensation awarded vide award dated
28.05.2002 passed by learned Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Gurgaon
(hereinafter referred to as ‘Tribunal’), whereby appellants-claimants were
awarded total compensation of Rs.2,67,500/- on account of death of deceased in
motor vehicular accident dated 16.02.2001 allegedly caused due to rash and
negligent driving of respondent-driver while driving car bearing registration
No.DL-4CE-6642 (hereinafter referred to as ‘offending vehicle’).

2. Since in the present appeal the only issue raised by the appellants-
claimants is with regard to the quantum of compensation and no appeal or cross-
objection has been preferred by any of the respondents to challenge findings of
learned Tribunal as regards to rash and negligent driving of offending vehicle
MANOJ KUMAR
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FAO-4523-2002 (O&M) -2-

driven by respondent-driver, therefore, the detailed facts regarding the manner
of accident are not being noticed herein for the sake of brevity.

3. In the present case, learned Tribunal had awarded the following
compensation to appellant-claimants:
Income Rs.2,050/- per month
rd
Deduction 1/3
Multiplier 16
Loss of dependency Rs.2,62,464/-
(Rs.1,367/- x 12 x 16)
Funeral expenses Rs.5,000/-
Total compensation Rs.2,67,500/-


4. Learned counsel for the appellants/claimants has sought
enhancement of compensation on the following grounds:
•
That the learned Tribunal has erred in not assessing the income
of the deceased as pleaded and proved by the claimants.
•
That the learned Tribunal has failed to apply the correct
multiplier, as per age of deceased.
•
That the deduction towards the personal and living expenses of
the deceased is excessive and contrary to the settled principles
of law.
•
That no addition towards future prospects has been made while
calculating the loss of dependency. Future prospects ought to
have been added, as per age of deceased.
•
That the learned Tribunal has also failed to award just and
appropriate compensation under the conventional heads,
namely funeral expenses, loss of estate, and loss of spousal,
parental, and filial consortium, in accordance with the law laid
down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court.

5. It was the case of the appellants-claimants that deceased was
running a milk dairy and a grocery shop at Manesar and was earning Rs. 15,000/-
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per month, which he was contributing towards the welfare of his family. In order
to prove pleaded income and vocation of deceased, appellants-claimants had
only relied upon self-serving oral assertions and had not adduced any cogent and
reliable evidence, which may show that deceased was earning Rs.15,000/- per

month by running a dairy and a grocery shop.

6. On consideration, I find that no fault can be found with the
approach adopted by learned Tribunal. In the present case, except for the oral
assertions made by the claimant-widow of the deceased, no evidence was led to
establish that the deceased was actually running a grocery shop and a milk dairy.
In the absence of any corroborative evidence regarding the vocation and income
of the deceased, the mere oral statement of the claimant cannot be made the basis
for concluding that the deceased was earning Rs. 15,000/- per month.

7. No doubt, in India, a substantial portion of the workforce is
engaged in the unorganised sector, where maintaining documentary proof of
income is not a common practice, and it is often difficult for the dependants of
a deceased person to establish his exact earnings. However, though it may be
difficult to prove the exact income of a person working in the unorganised sector,
it is certainly not impossible to establish his probable income from the attending
facts and circumstances. Such income can reasonably be assessed by taking into
consideration various surrounding circumstances, including the nature of the
vocation pursued by the deceased, bank accounts or financial statements, if any,
expenses incurred by him towards the education of his children, the standard of
living maintained by the family, ownership and maintenance of vehicles,
immovable properties standing in his name and other relevant circumstances
reflecting his financial status and earning capacity. These factors, even in the
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absence of direct documentary evidence of income, can provide a reasonable
basis for assessing the probable earnings of the deceased.

8. However, where no such material or surrounding circumstances are
brought on record, the income of the deceased cannot be assessed merely on the
basis of an unsubstantiated oral assertion. Acceptance of such a claim, without
any supporting material, would amount to assessment of income on conjectures
and surmises, which may lead to arbitrariness and would not be consistent with
the settled principle that compensation awarded under the Motor Vehicles Act
must be just, fair and reasonable. While determining compensation, the Court is
undoubtedly required to adopt a pragmatic and realistic approach, particularly
in cases involving persons engaged in the unorganised sector, but such an
approach cannot dispense with the requirement of there being some reasonable
basis for assessing the income claimed.

9. In the present case, since the appellants-claimants have failed to
bring on record any material to substantiate their assertion that the deceased was
earning Rs. 15,000/- per month from the alleged business of a milk dairy and
grocery shop, learned Tribunal was justified in assessing his income on the basis
of minimum wages payable to an unskilled worker at the relevant time.
Accordingly, the assessment of income made by learned Tribunal does not call
for any interference.

10. There is no dispute regarding the age of the deceased. The
appellants-claimants themselves pleaded that the deceased was 40 years of age
at the time of the accident, and learned Tribunal has also taken his age to be 40
years. Thus, the finding recorded by learned Tribunal regarding the age of the
deceased is not in dispute and deserves to be affirmed.
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11. It is also not in dispute that claimants i.e. widow, three children and
parents of deceased have survived deceased, therefore, it is clear that deceased
is survived by six dependents. In view of judgment of Hon’ble Supreme Court
in National Insurance Company Ltd. Vs. Pranay Sethi and others , 2017 (16)
SCC 680, learned Tribunal ought to have added future prospects for determining
loss of dependency, however, same was not done, therefore, in the present case,
claimants are entitled to addition of 25% towards future prospects for
determining loss of dependency. Since deceased was 40 years old, multiplier in
the present case as per Smt. Sarla Verma & Ors. Vs. Delhi Transport
Corporation & Anr., 2009 (6) SCC 121, would be ‘15’ and personal expenses
to the extent of 1/4th are required to be deducted as deceased was survived by
six dependents.

12. The loss of dependency, therefore, has to be determined by taking
monthly income of deceased to be Rs.2,050/- by adding future prospects to the
extent of 25% , by applying multiplier of ‘15’ and by making deduction of 1/4th
towards personal expenses.

13. Apart from compensation for loss of dependency, appellants-
claimants shall also be entitled to Rs.15,000/- towards funeral expenses and
Rs.15,000/- towards loss of estate . Appellant- Claimant No. 1 shall be entitled
to compensation of Rs.40,000/- towards loss of spousal consortium .
Appellants-Claimants No. 2 to 4 shall be entitled to compensation of Rs.40,000/-
each towards loss of parental consortium . Similarly, appellants-claimants No.
5 & 6 shall also be entitled to compensation of Rs.40,000/- each towards loss
of filial consortium . It is, however, made clear that in case Hon’ble Supreme
Court answers the reference regarding quantum of compensation under
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conventional heads made in Hasina Yasmin & Ors. Vs. National Insurance
Co. Ltd. , 2025 SCC OnLine SC 2919, in favour of appellants-claimants,
appellants-claimants shall be free to seek said amount by moving appropriate
application in this regard.

14. Accordingly, reworked compensation is as under:
Rs.2,050/- per month
Income Rs.2,050/- per month
25%
Future prospects
(Rs.2,050/-+ Rs.512)
Rs.2,562/-
1/4th
Deduction
(Rs.2,562/-−640)
Rs.1,922/-
15
Multiplier 15
Rs.3,45,960
Loss of dependency Rs.1,922/- × 12 × 15
Rs.15,000/-
Loss of estate
Rs.15,000/-
Funeral expenses
Loss of spousal Rs.40,000/-

consortium to widow
Loss of parental
consortium to claimants
no. 2 to 4
Rs.1,20,000/-
Rs.40,000 × 3
Loss of filial consortium Rs.80,000/-
Rs.40,000 × 2
to claimants nos. 5 & 6
Total compensation Rs.6,15,960/-

awarded in appeal
Total compensation Rs.2,67,500/-

awarded by Tribunal
Rs.6,15,960/- (as
awarded in appeal) −
Rs.2,67,500(as awarded
Enhanced amount of
compensation
Rs.3,48,460/-
by Tribunal)


15. Appellants/claimants shall be entitled to enhanced compensation
awarded in appeal along with 7.5% interest from the date of filing of claim
petition till realization (except under the conventional heads i.e. loss of
consortium, funeral expenses, loss of estate). Under conventional heads interest
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FAO-4523-2002 (O&M) -7-

shall be payable from August 2017 onwards till realization. Apportionment and
liability to pay compensation shall be as per award.

16. Appeal is accordingly allowed. Pending application(s), if any, is/are
disposed of accordingly.

03.11.2026 (PARMOD GOYAL)
manoj JUDGE


Whether speaking/reasoned Yes
Whether reportable Yes/No

MANOJ KUMAR
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