Income Tax Return Is Statutory Document, Holds Precedence Over Salary Certificate When Determining Compensation Under MV Act: Rajasthan HC
Rajasthan High Court has affirmed that if there are two documents for ascertaining the income of the deceased including a salary certificate from his/her employer and his/her Income Tax Returns (“ITR”), the latter shall be considered by the Court since these are statutory documents signed by the deceased himself/herself.
The bench of Justice Nupur Bhati was hearing an appeal against an insurance award passed by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (“Tribunal”) filed by the claimants.
It was the case of the appellants that the Tribunal had erred in taking into account the income of the deceased as Rs. 8,565/- per month based on the ITR, without taking into consideration the allowances such as conveyance, education, soft furnishing, newspaper, uniform etc.
It was submitted that as per the salary certificate provided by the employer of the deceased which was also affirmed by the company's representative called as a witness, deceased's salary was Rs. 16,500/- per month. And it was an error on part of the Tribunal to not consider the salary certificate to ascertain the income of the deceased.
On the contrary, the counsel for the respondent-insurance company argued that despite the salary certificate of the deceased showing a monthly salary of Rs. 16,500/- per month, ITR was a statutory document which had been produced by the claimants, and signed by the deceased himself. It was further submitted that the ITR was inclusive of the allowances and perks and thus, the Tribunal had rightly considered the ITR to ascertain the income of the deceased.
Aligning with the arguments of the counsel of the respondent-insurance company, the Court held that out of the two documents produced before the Court, the ITR was a statutory document for the purpose of determining the income of the deceased. The Court also made a reference to the Supreme Court case of Meenakshi v Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. to back this opinion and held that,
“This Court finds that the ITR (Ex.26), which is statutory document, is required to be considered for the purpose of assessing the income of the deceased, which is inclusive of perquisites and allowances, in the light of judgment rendered by Hon'ble Apex Court in the case of Meenakshi v. Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd.”
The Court also referred to the case of United India Insurance Company Ltd. v Indiro Devi in which the Apex Court was faced with the same question and had chosen the ITR to ascertain the salary of the deceased.
In this background, the Court opined that it was fit to take the income of the deceased as mentioned in the ITR and accordingly decided the appeal.
Title: Smt. Sudha & Ors. v Prakash Chandra & Ors.
Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Raj) 337