M.M.PUNCHHI,J. - (1.) THESE (FAO Nos. 26 and 27 of 1983) are dissatisfied claimants' appeals against the award of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Kapurthala.
(2.) THE accident as such is not disputed and so goes the negligence part of it. Suffice it to say that two brothers, Iqbal Singh and Raghbir Singh, were riding a motor cycle on their way home, when at about 9.30 a.m. on February 5, 1979, were struck by a Punjab Roadways bus for no fault of theirs. The bus was driven rashly and negligently by Sarup Singh driver. Iqbal Singh died at the spot. Raghbir Singh, however, escaped death at that time but was badly injured. He received treatment in a private hospital for about 50 days and died thereafter. This gave rise to the claim petitions. Raghbir Singh on the date of the accident was 45 years of age. His dependents were his widow and four minor children, aged 18 and below. He was said to be cultivating three acres of his own land and seven acres of his father and so to be deriving substantial income, which led the claimants to claim a sum of Rs. 2 lakhs as compensation. Besides, they claimed Rs. 6,000/- as expenses incurred by them on his treatment. For lack of positive evidence, the Tribunal awarded the claimants a sum of Rs. 2,500/-on account of expenses incurred on treatment. On the other hand, the Tribunal assessed the dependency of the claimants at the rate of Rs. 2,500/-per year and given a multiplier of 13 the total dependency was assessed at Rs. 32,500/-. In this way, the total sum awarded to the dependents of Raghbir Singh was Rs. 35,000/- over which they were given 6 per cent interest per annum from the date of the application till date of payment.
(3.) IQBAL Singh on the date of his death was 35 years of age. He was B.A., B.Ed. His dependents happened to be his widow and three minor children, aged 8 and less They too claimed a sum of Rs. 2 lakhs as compensation, which was based on the plea that the deceased was doing tuition work besides tilling his three acres of land and seven acres of his father, deriving substantial income. The Tribunal here did not believe the evidence regarding the tuition work, assessed the dependency of the claimants at Rs. 2,500/- per year and giving it a multiplier of 14 assessed compensation to the tune of Rs. 35,000/-. Over and above that, 6 per cent interest per annum was allowed from the date of the application till payment.;