- (1.) This appeal under section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act for enhancement of award, has been preferred against the impugned award dated 26.9.2008, passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal/Additional District Judge, Court No. 4, Barabanki in M.A.C. Case No. 45 of 2006, on the ground that compensation awarded to the appellant is inadequate, as it has been passed without application of mind wrongly assessing the notional income provided in the structural form of Motor Vehicles Act. While assailing the impugned award and stalling the claim for higher compensation, it has been submitted by the learned Counsel for the appellant that the notional income of the deceased has wrongly been assessed in pursuance to Second Schedule at the rate of Rs. 15,000/- per annum. The appellants' Counsel has relied upon an Apex Court's judgment in Laxmi Devi and others v. Mohammad Tabbar and another, 2008 2 TAC 394, where their Lordships of Hon'ble Supreme Court ruled out that the Second Schedule of the Act has lost its utility being an old one and even a daily wage employee gets minimum hundred rupees per day. Accordingly, their Lordships held that the notional income should be assessed at the rate of Rs. 3,000/- per month.
(2.) In view of the Apex Court's judgment in Laxmi Devi , followed by different Division Benches of this Court assessing notional income at the rate of Rs. 3,000/- per month, we are of the view that the income of the deceased should be assessed at the rate of Rs. 3,000/- per month. Accordingly, the impugned award requires modification by enhancing the compensation payable to the appellant.
(3.) Keeping in view the fact that the deceased was bachelor and multiplier of 17 is applied, then total amount of compensation would come to Rs. 36,000 x 17 = 6,12,000/- and adding the expenses of cremation i.e., Rs. 2,000/-, the total amount of compensation would come to Rs. 6,14,000/-.;