The Hindu Business Line : A bright child as a labourer!

SHIV Kumar studied in Mount Carmel School, Hoshiarpur, from kindergarten. He appeared for the Indian School Certificate Examination (ISCE), equivalent to Class X. Before the results were out, a jeep-bus collision snatched his life.

His mother and minor sister sought compensation from Punjab Roadways. The claims tribunal in Bilaspur decided that the accident had occurred due to negligence of the driver of the bus and, therefore, awarded Rs 1,72,800 as compensation. Seeking enhancement of the same, the claimants approached the High Court of Himachal Pradesh at Shimla, where Justice Deepak Gupta heard the case.

Among the documents produced by Shiv's mother was the ISCE mark-sheet. It showed Shiv's date of birth as January 1, 1981. His marks were: English 83; Punjabi 83; History, Civics and Geography 88; Mathematics 88; Science 88; and Economics 90. Average was 86.7 per cent.

After looking at other certificates, the judge said, "The deceased obviously was a brilliant student and always amongst the first three in the class." Shiv was not only good in studies but also `very good in extra-curricular activities'. He used to take part in `wide-ranging activities from Tae Kwon Do to painting'.

Justice Gupta observed that the tribunal, while assessing the damages, had assessed the future income of Shiv, "taking into consideration the daily-wages of a labourer." By no stretch of imagination could it have been even imagined that Shiv would have grown up to become a labourer, said the judge. The tribunal's approach was `pedantic', he rued.

Though no amount of money can bring back to the helpless parents `the joy of their life', the only relief that law can provide is in financial terms. Unlike children of rich parents who inherit wealth, children who belong to the lower middle class and poorer sections of society render financial assistance to their parents, said the judge.

"All children are not necessarily dutiful. However, keeping in view the Indian family system, it is expected of a child to look after his parents," he observed. "We have to go by conventional wisdom and the award has to be made on conventional basis."

Conservatively estimating Shiv's future earnings at Rs 5,000 per month, the judge assessed the monetary loss to the mother at Rs 1,500 per month or Rs 18,000 per year. "The mother was aged about 41 years at the time of the accident and the relevant multiplier would be 15. The compensation for loss of dependency would be Rs 2,70,000," he ruled.

Adding Rs 10,000 `for loss of love and affection', and another Rs 10,000 `for the funeral expenses and conventional damages', the total compensation was computed at Rs 2,90,000. This was apportioned as Rs 2,50,000 for the mother, and Rs 40,000 for the sister.

"The award of the tribunal is, therefore, modified and the compensation is enhanced from Rs 1,72,800 to Rs 2,90,000. The claimants are also entitled to interest on this amount at the rate of 9 per cent per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition, i.e., 26.6.1996 till deposit of the amount. The claimants are also entitled to costs of the appeal, which are assessed at Rs 3,000," stated the court.

"The respondent Punjab Roadways is directed to deposit the enhanced amount of compensation along with interest and costs in the Registry of this court on or before 15.9.2005 failing which it shall be liable to pay interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum w.e.f. today," reads the judgment dated June 22, 2005, in Hukmabati and Others vs Punjab Roadways and Others.

LawLane@TheHindu.co.in

D. Murali

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