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High Court Raises Army Veteran’s Accident Compensation, Protects Pension
Gurmit Singh died in a road accident in 2020.
He had served in the Army and later worked for the Haryana Police.
His wife, two children, and parents asked for money to help with the loss.
A tribunal first awarded them Rs 73.29 lakh.
The High Court increased the amount to Rs 74.99 lakh.
The court said the widow’s family pension was not money earned by Singh.
Therefore, it should not reduce the insurance compensation.
The court also corrected a small mistake in calculating Singh’s monthly income.
It decided that all five family members should receive consortium compensation.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court increased compensation for Gurmit Singh’s family to Rs 74.99 lakh.
Singh, an Army veteran and former Haryana Police SPO, died in a road accident on August 10, 2020.
The court ruled that the widow’s Rs 12,795 monthly family pension could not be deducted from compensation.
It corrected the deceased’s monthly income to Rs 39,325 instead of the tribunal’s written figure of Rs 39,375.
Consortium was awarded to all five claimants: Singh’s widow, two children, and both parents.
- Who
- Gurmit Singh’s widow, two children, and parents; the insurance company; and the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
- What
- The court raised the accident compensation to Rs 74.99 lakh and ruled that the widow’s family pension could not be deducted.
- Where
- The case involved the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in Kurukshetra and the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
- When
- Singh died on August 10, 2020; the High Court issued its order on September 22.
- Why
- The family sought compensation after Singh’s death, while the insurance company challenged the award and sought deduction of the family pension.
Claimants and Court
Insurance Company
Deduction of family pension
Claimants and Court
The court and claimants maintained that the widow’s Rs 12,795 family pension was a statutory, service-related benefit and should not reduce the motor-accident compensation.
Insurance Company
The insurance company argued that the widow’s monthly family pension should be deducted when calculating the family’s loss of dependency.
Consortium compensation
Claimants and Court
The claimants sought enhancement because the tribunal had awarded consortium only to the widow; the High Court awarded it to all five claimants.
Insurance Company
The insurance company challenged the tribunal award but the article does not state a separate position on consortium for each family member.
Income calculation
Claimants and Court
The court corrected the deceased’s proved monthly income to Rs 39,325, based on his Army pension and Haryana Police salary.
Insurance Company
The insurance company’s appeal was dismissed insofar as it sought deduction of the family pension; the article does not specify a separate challenge to the corrected income figure.
Key facts
- Final compensation
- Rs 74.99 lakh
- Earlier tribunal award
- Rs 73.29 lakh, with interest
- Deceased
- Gurmit Singh, an Army veteran and former Haryana Police SPO
- Family pension
- Rs 12,795 per month
- Corrected monthly income
- Rs 39,325, combining an Army pension of Rs 21,325 and Haryana Police salary of Rs 18,000
- Dependents
- Widow, two children, and both parents
- Accident date
- August 10, 2020
Quotes
Punjab and Haryana High Court
The court issuing the September 22 order in the compensation case
“The appeal filed by the insurance company is dismissed insofar as it seeks deduction of the family pension of Rs 12,795 received by the widow. However, the computation of compensation is corrected based on the deceased’s proved monthly income of Rs 39,325”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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