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TMI Blog2025 (2) TMI 72X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... reasoning given by the Tribunal as well as the Karnataka High Court's Division Bench judgment in B Parimala [2000 (7) TMI 1016 - KARNATAKA HIGH COURT] indicate, and, rightly so, that merely because the appellants stepped into the shoes of the deceased, by such factum itself, the appellants would not be capable of running the Mill. It would be of relevance as to whether due to their lack of experience and maturity, real/expected downfall in the profitability of the firm or the business would ensue. Such factor, while considering a claim pertaining to loss of future income/earnings, would have to be dealt with. In the present cases, even the monthly incomes of the parents as claimed by the appellants i.e.. income of the father being Rs.25,00,000/- per year and the mother's being Rs.20,00,000/- per year, the notional income fixed by the Tribunal of Rs.60,000/- each per month, is much more reasonable. It is no longer res integra that Income Tax Returns are reliable evidence to assess the income of a deceased, reference whereof can be made to Amrit Bhanu Shali v National Insurance Co. Ltd. [2012 (4) TMI 839 - SUPREME COURT]; KALPANARAJ AND ORS. VERSUS TAMIL NADU STATE TRANSPORT CORPN. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uments including the Partnership Deed dated 01.06.2006, Income Tax Returns of the firm Sri Ganga Mills (hereinafter referred to as the "Mill") for the Assessment Years 2007- 2008, 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. R1 also filed its written objection(s). After hearing the parties, the Tribunal awarded compensation of Rs.58,24,000/- (Rupees Fifty-Eight Lakhs Twenty-Four Thousand) for the father and Rs.93,61,000/- (Rupees Ninety-Three Lakhs Sixty-One Thousand) for the mother with interest @ 7.5 per cent per annum from the date of the filing of the claim petition till realization. It was R1 which filed appeals before the High Court, but R3 did not challenge the Award of the Tribunal. 5. Both the appeals have been decided by the High Court vide the common Impugned Judgment. The appeals were partly allowed. Final compensation, as awarded by the High Court was Rs.26,68,600/- (Rupees Twenty-Six Lakhs Sixty-Eight Thousand Six Hundred) for the father of appellants, whereas for the mother, it was Rs.19,22,680/- (Rupees Nineteen Lakhs Twenty-Two Thousand Six Hundred and Eighty). A comparative overview of the compensation awarded by the Tribunal and High Court is extracted below : ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... iness continue to accrue to his dependents. It was also submitted that a Coordinate Bench of this Court on 15.09.2022 in Civil Appeal Nos.6671-6672 of 2022 (Sushma H.R. & Anr. v Deepak Kumar Jha & Ors.) 2022 SCC OnLine SC 2166 had held that in view of the young age of the appellants, without experience, it cannot be expected that the business can be run by them in the same manner as it was run by the deceased. 8. It was submitted that in this background, the view of the High Court that the appellants had stepped into the shoes of the deceased by becoming partners in the firm and that they did not suffer any pecuniary loss in the business is also incorrect for the reason that the firm was being run by the parents of the appellants. The appellants were added as partners at the age of about 24, 22, 18 and 18 years respectively, but were not participating in the business for which the evidence of PWs 3, 8 and 10 were relied on. It was submitted that the evidence showed that due to the death of the parents, there was a downfall in the number of workers employed which reduced to 138 from 202, including technical workers as the firm was unable to pay their salaries on time. Further, it w ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... documents produced by the appellants and the reasoning given by the Tribunal as well as the Karnataka High Court's Division Bench judgment in B Parimala (supra) indicate, and in our opinion, rightly so, that merely because the appellants stepped into the shoes of the deceased, by such factum itself, the appellants would not be capable of running the Mill. It would be of relevance as to whether due to their lack of experience and maturity, real/expected downfall in the profitability of the firm or the business would ensue. Such factor, while considering a claim pertaining to loss of future income/earnings, would have to be dealt with. In the present cases, even the monthly incomes of the parents as claimed by the appellants i.e.. income of the father being Rs.25,00,000/- (Rupees Twenty-Five Lakhs) per year and the mother's being Rs.20,00,000/- (Rupees Twenty Lakhs) per year, the notional income fixed by the Tribunal of Rs.60,000/- (Rupees Sixty Thousand) each per month, is much more reasonable. It is no longer res integra that Income Tax Returns are reliable evidence to assess the income of a deceased, reference whereof can be made to Amrit Bhanu Shali v National Insurance Co. Ltd. ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... king. Unlike tortious liability, which is chiefly concerned with making up for the past and reinstating a claimant to his original position, the compensation under the Act is concerned with providing stability and continuity in peoples' lives in the future. See Peter Cane, Atiyah's Accidents, Compensation and the Law (7th Edition, Cambridge University Press, 2006) 411-412 Keeping the abovementioned principles in the backdrop, we now move on to the facts at hand. xxx 17. The mere fact that the Deceased's share of ownership in these businesses ventures was transferred to the Deceased's minor children just before his death or to the dependents after his death is not a sufficient justification to conclude that the benefits of these businesses continue to accrue to his dependents. On the contrary, it has come on record that the Deceased was actively involved in the day - to- day administration of these businesses from their stage of infancy, had undergone specialized training to administer his business and that the audit reports neatly delineate Deceased's share of income from the businesses. These facts necessitate that the entire amount from the business ventures ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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