Married daughters also entitled for compensation: Karnataka High Court
Bengaluru(PTI): The Karnataka High Court has held that married daughters are entitled for compensation by insurance companies on the loss of their parents in accidents.
The HC said the Supreme Court has held that married sons are also entitled for compensation in such cases.
"This Court also cannot make any discrimination whether they are married sons or married daughters and hence, the very contention that married daughters of deceased are not entitled for compensation cannot be accepted," it said.
The HC single judge bench of Justice H P Sandesh heard an appeal filed by an insurance company challenging the award of compensation to married daughters of one Renuka (aged 57) who was killed in an accident on April 12, 2012 near Yamanur, Hubballi, in north Karnataka.
Renuka's husband, three daughters and a son had sought compensation. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal had awarded a compensation of Rs 5,91,600 with six per cent annual interest to the family members.
The insurance company had challenged this in the HC contending that married daughters could not claim compensation, and also that they were not dependents. Therefore, awarding compensation under the head 'loss of dependency' was wrong. It was claimed by the insurer that compensation was to be awarded only under 'loss of estate.'
The HC, however, said that dependency does not only mean financial dependency. Even if the dependency is a relevant criterion to claim compensation for loss dependency, it does not mean financial dependency is the 'ark of the covenant'.
Dependency includes gratuitous service dependency, physical dependency, emotional dependency, and psychological dependency, which can never be equated in terms of the money, it said.
Other contentions of the insurance company including doubts about the age of the deceased, and her income were also rejected by the court. A warranty card for a sewing machine purchased by the deceased came in handy for the Tribunal to calculate her income at Rs 4,500 per month.
The HC rejected the contention of the insurer that exorbitant compensation had been awarded by the Tribunal, and dismissed its appeal.
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Siddaramaiah tells Centre not to punish Karnataka for being progressive
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday underlined the need for justice in the devolution of taxes.
He said no one should milk a milch cow completely, or else the calf would be malnourished.
Addressing people on the occasion of the 69th state formation day at Sree Kanteerava Stadium here, Siddaramaiah said there is injustice happening to Karnataka.
The state is contributing more than Rs four lakh crore as revenue to the Centre and it is the second largest contributor to the Central tax revenue after Maharashtra, he pointed out.
"Even though we give more than Rs four lakh crore, we are only getting Rs 55,000 crore to Rs 60,000 crore. Kannadigas should know this. We are getting 14 to 15 per cent only of our contribution," the chief minister said.
Under the federal system, there should not be any injustice just because Karnataka is a progressive state, he observed.
"Just because a milch cow is giving milk, we should not milk it completely. We should leave some milk for the calf too or else it will malnourish. This no one should ever forget," Siddaramaiah said.
The chief minister emphasised taking pride in Kannada and bringing it in daily use as much as possible.
Stating that Karnataka has people speaking more than 200 languages, Siddaramaiah said, whatever language people speak here or whichever caste or religion they belong to, they all are Kannadigas. Those who consume the air, water and food are Kannadigas, he told the gathering.
He said Kannada is a very old language with a history of 7,000 years. Hence, the Centre too recognised it as a classical language.
Siddaramaiah appealed to the people that they should never sacrifice Kannada language.
"I don't oppose being liberal. I in fact endorse being liberal but not at the cost of sacrificing our language," the chief minister noted.
"Our affection for our language should not be extreme, but we should never give up our pride for our language. We all should be Kannada lover," he added.
For Kannada to grow, people living here must become Kannadigas, Siddaramaiah said.
"I will never say not to learn any other language. Keep enhancing your linguistic wealth but never forget speaking in Kannada," he told people.
He reminded people that November 1 is not only the state formation day but also the anniversary of Mysore state getting the name of Karnataka by the then chief minister, late D Devaraj Urs.
A cultural programme themed around 'Hesarayithu Karnataka, Usiragali Kannada' (the state got the name Karnataka, now Kannada should become the breath) was held on the occasion.
