- (1.) HEARD learned counsel for the parties and perused the record as well as the award of the learned Tribunal.
(2.) LEARNED counsel for the claimant-appellants has submitted that the learned Tribunal while determining the award of compensation has committed an error in adopting the multiplier of 16, where the age of the deceased was determined as 30-years. Learned counsel submits that keeping in view the provisions of Second Schedule to the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 a multiplier of 18 ought to have been adopted. The case of the appellants throughout was that the age of the deceased at the time of accident was 26-years, as mentioned in Para 3 of the claim petition. Learned counsel submits that the reliance placed upon the post morterm report (Exhibit-2), wherein the age of the deceased Ram Chandra was entered as 30-years is only by way of an approximation and, therefore, the reliance upon the same for determining the compensation could not be taken as final, which too was not at the instance of the claimants. The submission of the learned counsel for the respondents, on the other hand, is that the age of the deceased has been entered in the post morterm report as 30-years and in absence of any other evidence the same has rightly been taken as correct.
(3.) I have given my thoughtful consideration to the above. I am of the view that the age of the deceased having been taken as 30-years, no interference is called for in this miscellaneous appeal. However, the benefit can be given so far as the multiplier is concerned. For the age group in between 25-30-years a multiplier of 18 has been prescribed and that for 30-35 years, a multiplier of 17 has been prescribed. Since the claimants have given the age of the deceased as 26-years, I am inclined to take the multiplier of 18 in the facts and circumstances of the present case, where the age has been held to be 30-years by the learned Tribunal. On the basis of the above, the computation of compensation for the loss of earning without disturbing the dependency is assessed as follows : (2000x12x18) = Rs.4,32,000/- An amount of Rs.3,84,000/- has been awarded by the learned Tribunal under the aforesaid head. ;