GAJRABEN NENAJI THAKOR DELETED vs YOGESHKUMAR DAHYABHAI PATEL DELETED
- Court
- Gujarat High Court
C/FA/2430/2020 JUDGMENT DATED: 03/11/2026
(GJHC240540952020)
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
R/FIRST APPEAL NO. 2430 of 2020
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE L. S. PIRZADA
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Approved for Reporting Yes No
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GAJRABEN NENAJI THAKOR DELETED & ANR.
Versus
YOGESHKUMAR DAHYABHAI PATEL DELETED & ORS.
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Appearance:
NISHIT A BHALODI(9597) for the Appellant(s) No. 1,2
DELETED for the Defendant(s) No. 1
MR KV GADHIA(319) for the Defendant(s) No. 3
SERVED BY AFFIX. (R) for the Defendant(s) No. 2
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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE L. S. PIRZADA
Date : 03/11/2026
ORAL JUDGMENT
1. The present First Appeal under Section 173 of the
Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, is preferred by the appellants-
original claimants, being aggrieved and dissatisfied with
the judgment and award dated 08.11.2019 passed by the
Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (Aux.), Anand, in MACP
No. 634 of 2013.
2. Since the factual aspects of the road accident
involving the vehicle and the liability of the owner as well
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as the insurer are not disputed by the insurance company,
and considering that the facts have already been detailed
in the record, I have avoided burdening this judgment
with unnecessary narration, as there is no purpose in
reiterating the same.
3. Heard learned advocate Mr. Nishit A. Bhalodi for the
appellants-original claimants. He submitted that the
present appeal has been filed on the ground that the
learned Tribunal has committed an error in not properly
calculating the amount of compensation and that the
amount awarded is on the lower side. It was submitted
that the learned Tribunal has not considered the
minimum wages prevailing at the time of the accident.
Further, in view of the judgment of the Hon’ble Apex
Court in the case of National Insurance Company
Limited v. Pranay Sethi, reported in (2017) 16 SCC
680 , in general, the non-pecuniary damages of
Rs.19,965/- each towards loss of estate and funeral
expenses ought to have been awarded. It was further
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submitted that the compensation towards loss of
consortium, as considered by the Hon’ble Apex Court in
United India Insurance Company Limited v. Satinder
Kaur, reported in (2021) 11 SCC 780, has not been
granted to each of the claimants. It was submitted that,
insofar as deceased Kanuji Nenaji Thakor is concerned,
he was driving the vehicle and the learned Tribunal
attributed 15% negligence to the deceased, while holding
the driver of the Vitkos Bus bearing registration No. GJ-
04-X-9722 negligent to the extent of 85%. The said finding
is not under challenge, and the present appeal has been
preferred only on the aforesaid grounds.
4. On the other hand, learned advocate Mr. K. V.
Gadhia for respondent No.3-insurance company
submitted that the impugned judgment and award passed
by the learned Tribunal is just and proper. The learned
Tribunal has rightly considered the income and age of the
deceased, the dependency and future prospects of
income, and has also rightly awarded compensation
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under the heads of loss of estate and funeral expenses. It
was, therefore, submitted that the present appeal is
devoid of merit.
5. It is required to be considered that the Motor
Vehicles Act, 1988, is a beneficial piece of legislation, and
the concept of just compensation is integral and central
to the Act. Compensation is required to be awarded on
the principles of fairness and reasonableness to the
injured persons in road accidents or to the legal
representatives of deceased persons.
6. Upon considering the submissions made by the rival
parties and perusing the record and proceedings of the
learned Tribunal, it appears that the learned Tribunal has
assessed the income of the deceased at Rs.4,000/- per
month. However, as the accident took place on
05.11.2011, the minimum wage prevailing at the relevant
time was Rs.5,750/- per month. Therefore, this Court
considers the income of the deceased to be Rs.5,750/- per
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month. An addition of 40% towards future prospects is
required to be made, as the age of the deceased at the
time of the accident was 28 years. The multiplier of 17
adopted by the learned Tribunal is proper. Further,
compensation of Rs.19,965/- each towards loss of estate
and funeral expenses is required to be awarded, along
with Rs.53,240/- towards loss of consortium. A deduction
of 15% is required to be made towards the negligence
attributed to the deceased.
7. Therefore, the total compensation payable to the
claimants is calculated as under:
Heads of
Awarded by the
Reassessed by this
Compensation
Tribunal
Court
Future Loss of
Rs.5,71,200/- Rs.8,21,100
Dependency
Loss of Estate Nil Rs.19,965/-
Funeral Expenses Nil Rs.19,965/-
Loss of Consortium Nil Rs.53,240/-
Total
Rs.5,71,200/- Rs.9,14,270/-
Compensation
Less: 15% towards
Rs.85,680/- Rs. 1,37,140/-
negligence of the
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deceased
Net Compensation Rs.4,85,520/- Rs. 7,77,130/-
Less: Compensation
- -Rs. 4,85,520/-
already awarded by
the Tribunal
Additional
- Rs. 2,91,610/-
Compensation
8. Therefore, I hold that the claimants are entitled to
enhanced compensation of Rs.2,91,610/- with interest at
the rate of 9% per annum from the date of filing of the
claim petition till its realization
9. For the reasons recorded above, the following order
is passed:
a. The present appeal is partly allowed.
b. The insurance company is directed to deposit the
enhanced amount of Rs.2,91,610/- along with interest at
the rate of 9% per annum from the date of filing of the
claim petition till realization, within a period of six weeks
from the date of receipt of this order. The remaining
directions issued by the learned Tribunal shall remain
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unchanged.
c. The learned Tribunal shall disburse the entire
awarded amount, including the amount lying in fixed
deposits and/or with the Tribunal, together with accrued
interest, if any, to the claimants by account-payee cheque
or through NEFT/RTGS, after proper verification and
following the prescribed procedure..
d. While making the payment, the learned Tribunal
shall deduct the court fees, if any, remaining unpaid in
accordance with the applicable rules.
e. The record and proceedings shall be sent back to the
concerned Tribunal forthwith, and the award shall be
drawn accordingly.
(L. S. PIRZADA, J)
STANCY GOMES
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