- (1.) The respondents are in appeal against the award of Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Patiala (for short, 'the Tribunal') whereby widow of deceased Gurjant Singh has been granted compensation of a sum of Rs. 1,50,000 and her daughter was granted compensation of Rs. 23,000.
(2.) Learned Counsel for the appellants submitted that petition filed by the respondents/claimants under Section 163A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (for short "the Act") was not maintainable for the reason that in the petition the salary of deceased Gurjant Singh was claimed to be Rs. 5,000 per month whereas for maintaining a petition under Section 163A of the Act, the income could not exceed Rs. 40,000 per annum. However, it could not be disputed by him that subsequently claim petition was amended and the income was restricted to Rs. 40,000 per annum, which brought the petition within the ambit of provisions of Section 163A of the Act. Learned Counsel for the appellants further submitted that even after the amendment, in the cross-examination respondent No. 1/claimant stated that income of the deceased was Rs. 500 per day and that would mean her claim petition was not within the ambit of provisions of Section 163A of the Act.
(3.) I do not find any merit in any of the contentions raised by learned Counsel for the appellants for the reason that claimant is an illiterate lady and secondly any claim beyond pleadings was otherwise also not admissible. Another submission made by learned Counsel for the appellants is that dependency and the multiplier has been wrongly calculated by the Tribunal. However, I find that income of the deceased was assessed moderately at Rs. 2,100 per month even after reducing from Rs. 40,000 per annum and after applying a cut of 1/3rd for his personal expenses, contribution to the family is assessed at Rs. 1,400 per month, which was not on higher side. Multiplier of 10 also cannot be said to be on the higher side keeping in view the facts and circumstances of the case. Similar is the position with regard to interest granted on the awarded amount which is 8% per annum.;