LexMEENABEN PANKAJKUMAR JOSHI & ORS. versus NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD.
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[2009] 12 S.C.R. 596 A MEENABEN PANKAJKUMAR JOSHI & ORS. ' • v. NEW INDIA ASSURANCi;: CO. LTD. (Civil Appei=il No.5194 of 2009) B AUGUST 7, 2009 [S.B. SINHA AND DEEPAK VERMA, JJ.) Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 - s. 168 - Compensation - ~ .... Award of - Claimant's husband, director of a company and c also running proprietorship concern - Death in motor vehicle accident -- Claim of compensation - Filing of income tax returns for assessment year disclosing income - Compensation awarded by tribunal with proportionate costs - High Court modifying the compensation amount as also D rate of interest - On appeal held : In terms of s. 168, it is necessary for the tribunal to award fair compensation ,... • • Additional documents have been produced before this Court - In the interest of justice, matter remitted back to tribunal to consider the additional documents as aqditional evidence for E awarding compensation. CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION : Civil Appeal Nq. !?194 of ;mo~. From the Judgment & Order dated 27.2.2007 of the High F Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad in First Appeal No. 2140 of 2006. K.V. Vishwanathan, Abhisehk Kaushik, Janak Shah, Rauf Rahim Yadunandan Bansal for the Appellants. G Salil Paul, Manjeet Chawla for the Respondents. ... The Judgment of the Court was delivered by S.B. SINHA, J. 1. Leave granted. H 596 ME;~NABEN PANKAJKUMAR JOSHI & ORS. v. NEW 597 INDIA ASSURANCE CO. LTD. [S.B. SINHA, J.] • "' 2. The claimants in a rnotor accid~nt claims are before us A aggrieved by and qissatisfied with the j4cjgment and a,wa.rd passed by a Division Bench of the Hi~h Court of Guja.ra.t whereby and whereunder a judgment ard award dated 13.122005 passed by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Fast Track Court-4, Gandhidham - Kutch in MAC Petition B No.297 of 2005 (original No.2 of 1998) wa~ modified. 3. The deceased Raj Kumar Joshi was a Director of a ~ Company commonly known as Kandla Clearing Agency Private Limited. He was drawing a salary of Rs.7,500/- per month. He c was, however, also running a proprietorship concern carrying on business in 'Clearing and Forwarding' in the name of Ultra Clearing and Forwarding Company. Appellants filed a claim petition before the Tribunal claiming ...,, a sum of Rs.90 lakhs as compensation in respect of the death D , • of the said Raj Kumar Joshi who died in a motor vehicle accident and with a view to prove their case, appellants, inter i'llia, filed income tax returns for the assessment years 1996- 97 and 1 !397-98 disclosing the income from salary from the Directorship in Ki'!ndla Clearing Agency Private Limited at E Rs.66,000/- and Rs.90,000/- respectively. The sciid returns were accompanied by a certificate issued by the Manager/ ~· r Accountant of the C0.rnp<;1ny. In the said incgm~ tax return§, a sum of Rs.12.73 lakhs was also shown as turnover of the business for eight months in respect of the said proprietorship concern. ihe Tribun(:ll passec;! an award for a sum of F Rs.49,25,000/- with proportionate costs 1'!nQ interest at the rate of 12% per annum from the d~te of claim petition till December 2000 and thereafter at the rate of 9% per annum. Respondent No.1 herein preferred an appeal thereagainst before the High G ""'i Court questioning the correctness of the said judgment and award. 4. The High Court by reason of the impugned judgment, so far as the income of the deceased from the aforementioned proprietorship concern is concerned, opined as under : H 598 SUPREME COURT REPORTS [2009] 12 S.C.R. A "Even proceeding on the basis that the deceased had set 1 • up another business in the name of Ultra Clearing and Forwarding Company in May 1997 and even proceeding on the basis that there were deposit:? in the bank accounts of the deceased with State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, B we cannot at all approve of the approach of the Tribunal in proceeding on the basis that the margin of profit or margin of commission of the deceased in the said business was to the extent of 20%. The very nature of the business of the deceased being that of clearing and ~ c forwarding agent would mean that the deceased would be acting as an agent of the consignors or consignees and, therefore, such receipts would to a substantial extent be the price of the goods being consigned. The very fact that after the accident the widow of the deceased filed income D tax returns for the salary Income of the deceased f
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