Karnataka High Court
Credit: DH File Photo
Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has said that merely because aged parents are living separately it cannot be said that they were not dependent on the deceased son.
A division bench comprising Justices K S Mudagal and K V Aravind said this while rejecting the appeal filed by the insurance company challenging the order passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal at Kolar.
The case pertains to the accident that happened on Gudalur main road in Tamil Nadu on December 24, 2009. The deceased G M Narayanaswamy was working as a Physical Education Teacher in a Government Higher Primary School. The family members had moved the tribunal seeking compensation claiming that Narayanaswamy was earning Rs 18,000 per month. In November 2014, the tribunal awarded Rs 18,93,308 compensation with interest at 6% per annum to the family members.
Both the insurance company and the family members of Narayanaswamy moved an appeal. The insurance company argued that the accident had occurred when the vehicle in which the deceased was travelling hit a roadside tree to avoid a collision. The company further claimed that the parents were living separately and hence were not dependent upon Narayanaswamy. It was also submitted that Narayanaswamy’s son has been granted compassionate appointment and hence no compensation can be awarded under ‘loss of future income’.
The division bench noted that the Gudalur North police had filed a charge sheet against the driver for the offences punishable under IPC sections 279, 337, 304A of IPC and section 3 read with section 181 of the Motor Vehicles Act. With regard to the compassionate appointment to the son of the deceased, the bench cited an apex court judgement in the Sebastiani Lakra and Ors Vs National Insurance Company Ltd and said the top court held that deduction cannot be allowed from the amount of compensation on account of insurance, pensionary benefits, gratuity or grant of employment to a kin of the deceased.
“Deceased was survived by his widow, two minor children and aged parents. Merely because aged parents were living separately, it cannot be said that they were not depending on the deceased. It is to be noted that when the children are in service, many times parents stay back in the villages though they were being looked after by their earning children. It is the pious responsibility of the children also. Therefore, there is no merit in the contention that parents cannot be treated as the dependents,” the division bench said while awarding a slightly enhanced compensation of Rs 23,05,000, with 50% share to the wife, 30% share to the children and 20% share to the parents of the deceased.