Fatal accidents – Compensation – Claim of – Rash and negligent driving by truck driver – Death of victim-employee of a company – Tribunal passed the award relying on the salary certificate issued by the employer of the deceased – Income tax record produced by claimant not taken into account since claimants did not lead any evidence to explain contradiction between the two figures emerging from the evidence of the employer – In Revision, the High Court took into account the income of the deceased as found in the income tax assessment – On appeal, held: Salary certificate not to be the only basis to assess income of the deceased for arriving at a just and fair compensation to be paid to the claimants for the loss of life – Income of the deceased as stated in the Income Tax return not to be totally ignored – Thus, order passed by the High Court does not call for interference.
Dismissing the petitions, the Court
HELD: There is no doubt that if the salary certificate is taken into account the salary of the deceased should be taken as Rs. 1,06,176/- since the gross salary was Rs.8848/-per month. That, however, does not mean that the income of the deceased as stated in the Income Tax return should be totally ignored. It is not possible to agree with the observation of the tribunal that it was necessary for the claimants to “explain the said contradiction” between two figures of income. The claimants had led reliable evidence that the deceased had returned an income of Rs. 2,42,606/- for the assessment year 2004-05. This piece of evidence has not been discredited. Indeed, it was possible that the deceased had income from other sources also. There is nothing in the law which requires the tribunal to assess the income of the deceased only on the basis of a salary certificate for arriving at a just and fair compensation to be paid to the claimants for the loss of life. In the circumstances, there is no reason to interfere with the judgment of the High Court. [Paras 9, 10][172-D-G]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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