National Insurance Co Ltd vs Sh Dharamveer Chauhan And Ors
- Court
- Delhi High Court
$~1 & 2
* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
rd
% Date of decision: 03 November 2026
# CNR No. DLHC010135902014
+ MAC.APP. 76/2014
NATIONAL INSURANCE CO LTD .....Appellant
Through: Mr. Pankaj Seth and Ms. Shruti Jain,
Advs.
versus
SH DHARAMVEER CHAUHAN AND ORS .....Respondents
Through: Mr. Manish Maini, Ms. Aastha
Chauha, Ms. Anjali Singh and Mr.
Abhinav Sharma, Advs. for R-1 to 3.
(2)
# CNR No. DLHC010550892017
+ MAC.APP. 275/2017
DHARAMVEER CHAUHAN & ORS .....Appellant
Through: Mr. Manish Maini, Ms. Aastha
Chauha, Ms. Anjali Singh and Mr.
Abhinav Sharma, Advs.
versus
NATIONAL INSURANCE CO LTD & ORS .....Respondents
Through: Mr. Pankaj Seth and Ms. Shruti Jain,
Advs. for R-1.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ANISH DAYAL
JUDGMENT
ANISH DAYAL, J (ORAL)
1. These cross-appeals have been filed by the Insurance Company and
nd
the claimants in relation to an accident which occurred on 02 September
2012 at about 7:15 pm, resulting in the death of Smt. Rajani (hereinafter,
Signature Not Verified
MAC.APP. 76/2014 & MAC.APP. 275/2017 1/11
Digitally Signed By:RAHUL
KUMAR CHOUDHARY
Signing Date:06.11.2026
16:44:15
‘ deceased ’) who was travelling with her husband and children in an RTV
bus bearing registration no. DL-1MC-0201 (‘ offending vehicle ’). While
alighting from the bus, the driver geared up the offending vehicle, causing
the deceased to fall and suffer fatal injuries. FIR No. 222/2012 was
registered at P.S. Mianwali Nagar under Sections 279/304-A of IPC.
Compensation of Rs.22,05,740/- along with 7.5% interest was awarded by
the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, West, Delhi [‘ MACT/Tribunal ’] by
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award dated 01 October 2013.
2. While the Insurance Company has preferred MAC.APP. 76/2014
seeking reduction of compensation, claimants have preferred MAC.APP.
275/2017 for enhancement of compensation.
3. Mr. Manish Maini , counsel for claimants, seeks enhancement of
compensation, as well as, correction of certain components in order to be
aligned with the principles enunciated in National Insurance Co. Ltd. v.
Pranay Sethi , (2017) 16 SCC 680.
4. Since there were three claimants i.e. husband and two minor children,
loss of consortium will be awarded at Rs.1,20,000/- ( Rs.40,000/- x3 ). Loss of
care and guidance has been awarded at Rs.1,00,000/- and shall be deleted,
since it does not form within the standardization enunciated in Pranay Sethi
( supra ). Funeral expenses and loss to estate will be awarded at Rs.15,000/-
each. Medical expenses shall be retained at Rs.5,000/- .
5. As regards the issue of loss of dependency, MACT considered the age
of deceased at 29 years on the basis of the Voter ID Card, which showed her
birth year as 1983.
6. However, Mr. Maini , counsel for claimants, has pointed out the
following documents, which form a part of the record:
Signature Not Verified
MAC.APP. 76/2014 & MAC.APP. 275/2017 2/11
Digitally Signed By:RAHUL
KUMAR CHOUDHARY
Signing Date:06.11.2026
16:44:15
i. Both the Medico-Legal Certificate (‘ MLC ’) and postmortem report
note her age as 23 years at the time of accident, as also the Electoral
Roll prepared by the Panchayat in 2009, exhibited at Ex.PW1/5 ,
which shows that her age was 19 years and her husband’s age was 23
years in 2012, therefore, her age would be about 22 years.
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ii. Certificate of the legal heirs issued by the Gram Panchayat on 07
September 2012 also states the husband’s age as 28 years in 2012
when the accident occurred.
iii. Driving licence of the husband/ Dharamveer Chauhan also shows that
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his date of birth is 25 September 1985. He, therefore, would have
been about 27 years on the date of the accident.
iv. It would be unlikely that the deceased’s age would be 29 years in
2012.
7. Clearly there seems to be some discrepancy in the age of deceased as
recorded in the Voter ID Card. Therefore, the age of deceased ought to be
taken at 23 years on the date of accident, considering the documents noted
above.
8. Accordingly, future prospects will be awarded at 40% and multiplier
will be taken at 18.
9. Mr. Maini , counsel for claimants, raised another issue regarding the
notional income being taken at Rs.7,078/- as minimum wages of a non-
matriculate, considering that she was a homemaker.
10. He placed reliance on the decision of Supreme Court in Kirti & Ors.
v. Oriental Insurance , (2021) 2 SCC 166, where the Court undertook an
elaborate discussion on the assessment of notional income of a homemaker
recognizing that there can be no exact calculation or formula to ascertain the
Signature Not Verified
MAC.APP. 76/2014 & MAC.APP. 275/2017 3/11
Digitally Signed By:RAHUL
KUMAR CHOUDHARY
Signing Date:06.11.2026
16:44:15
true value of services provided by a homemaker for those who are near and
dear to. An attempt must be made in the best manner possible, to grant
monetary compensation by assessing the truest approximation of the value
added by a homemaker. Relevant findings summarized by the Court are as
under:
“41. Therefore, on the basis of the above, certain
general observations can be made regarding the issue
of calculation of notional income for homemakers and
the grant of future prospects with respect to them, for
the purposes of grant of compensation which can be
summarised as follows:
…
41.3. Various methods can be employed by the court to
fix the notional income of a homemaker, depending on
the facts and circumstances of the case.
41.4. The court should ensure while choosing the
method, and fixing the notional income, that the same
is just in the facts and circumstances of the particular
case, neither assessing the compensation too
conservatively, nor too liberally….”
(emphasis added)
11. Additionally, reliance was also placed upon the recent decision of
Supreme Court in Shishu Pal v. Surjeet , 2026 SCC OnLine SC 1114 to
state that loss of domestic care ought to be granted.
12. Applicability of the decision in Shishu Pal (supra) has been
considered by this Court in the decision of Uma Rani v. Simranjeet Singh
& Ors. 2026:DHC:5183, which was an injury case involving a homemaker
and as in the present case, no documentary proof of matriculation or
graduation had been filed. The Court relied upon its earlier decision in
Savita & Ors. v. National Insurance Co. Ltd. 2026:DHC:3626, and
Signature Not Verified
MAC.APP. 76/2014 & MAC.APP. 275/2017 4/11
Digitally Signed By:RAHUL
KUMAR CHOUDHARY
Signing Date:06.11.2026
16:44:15
considered the notional income slightly higher than the minimum wages of a
skilled worker, which was Rs.8,814/- in that case.
13. Relevant discussion on the applicability of the decision of Shishu Pal
( supra ) undertaken by this Court in Uma Rani ( supra ) is provided as under:
“41. The discussion on calculating notional income of
a homemaker and the contribution made by her in the
household has recently been recognized by the
Supreme Court in its decision in Shishu Pal v. Surjeet,
2026 SCC OnLine SC 1114, rendered on 11th June
2026 (after the present matter had been finally heard
and reserved for judgment), the Supreme Court
considered additional compensation to be granted in
cases involving the death of a homemaker. The issue
before the Court was regarding
quantification/monetization of a homemaker’s
contribution to her family, in particular, and therefore,
to the nation, at large. The Supreme Court rendered a
detailed opinion on inadequacy in assessing the
contribution of a homemaker and its translation into
compensation for the claimants. Relevant observations
of the Court are extracted as under for ease of
reference:
“16. That being said, even when it comes to
computation for damages under non-pecuniary
heads, the loss still does require the recognition of
such heads before compensation can be awarded.
The first of them being the loss of the
homemaker's dexterous ability to manage all the
chores of the household. Granted, that in the
increasingly modern urban centres of the country
it may not be the case that a homemaker stands in
front of the gas stove bright and early in the
morning or late at night or even that she walks
around, slouched, running the broom throughout
the house, but, the fact of the matter is that in
smaller cities, towns and villages, even today,
Signature Not Verified
MAC.APP. 76/2014 & MAC.APP. 275/2017 5/11
Digitally Signed By:RAHUL
KUMAR CHOUDHARY
Signing Date:06.11.2026
16:44:15
such tasks assumedly and invariably fall on the
homemaker, without as much as a second thought.
The second head pertain to the children of the
house. They have lost their mother, the source of
never-ending love, comfort and affection, the
person who they could run to with all their
problems, questions and concerns and
heartbreaks. She is also their first point of contact
with the ways of the world, silently and subtly
teaching them skills of survival, perseverance and
excellence shaping them into well rounded human
beings capable of being functioning contributors
to the economy of the nation. This, in our view, is
somewhat different from emotional support or
dependence for primary skills necessary for
everyday functioning that are imbibed by the
children from their mother. This has a distinctly
economic angle while also being partly an
emotional aspect perfectly fitting into the non-
categorizable roles played by homemaker. How
does one calculate this? The third is equally
troubling. A husband has, no longer, the support
of his life partner, someone he depends on entirely
to run smoothly, an entire part of his life, his
home, family, children, relatives. Even in
conservative settings where patriarchy looms
large, the sense of dependency that obtains, if
taken away, greatly challenges the man for he is
now directionless and suddenly responsible for a
lot more than he is used to. When the efforts of the
homemaker towards the husband and children are
taken on the whole it cannot be disputed that
although her labour be at emotional or physical is
within the four walls of the home, its impact is
much wider. In enabling the direct contribution
today of their husbands and tomorrow of their
children, they are the building blocks for the
nation's road to holistic progress. [See: Kalukutty
Signature Not Verified
MAC.APP. 76/2014 & MAC.APP. 275/2017 6/11
Digitally Signed By:RAHUL
KUMAR CHOUDHARY
Signing Date:06.11.2026
16:44:15
v. P.M. John, Bhuvaneswari v. Mani] We may
also observe that in a recent order of this Court in
Arvind Kumar Pandey v. Girish Pandey, also
made similar observations to the following effect:
“7. It goes without saying that the role of a
homemaker is as important as that of a
family member whose income is tangible as a
source of livelihood for the family. The
activities performed by a homemaker, if
counted one by one, there will hardly be any
doubt that the contribution of a homemaker
is of a high order and invaluable. In fact, it is
difficult to assess such a contribution in
monetary terms.”
Any computation made as a result of injury
suffered or death, should be aware of this larger
role and not be myopic in its view.
The loss of a homemaker however is not limited to
husband and children. It also directly impacts the
women's own parents who have been deprived of
the love and company of their child, who have lost
the support and comfort of this person and are left
alone with this boundless grief. Still further, the
loss is acutely felt by her in-laws who are more
often than not members of the same household
and therefore are dependent on the love, labour
and dedication of this person, for food for
medicines and doctor's visit or for even the
regular company over a morning tea. Strict
arithmetic calculation does not lend its services to
any of these scenarios.”
(emphasis added)
42. The Supreme Court introduced a new head of
compensation being, ‘loss of domestic care’, providing
that in cases where the homemaker has no income in
monetary terms, compensation under this head would
be treated as the monthly income. This additional head
Signature Not Verified
MAC.APP. 76/2014 & MAC.APP. 275/2017 7/11
Digitally Signed By:RAHUL
KUMAR CHOUDHARY
Signing Date:06.11.2026
16:44:15
of ‘loss of domestic care’ is distinct from ‘loss of
consortium’ and is to be considered as a composite
amount comprising three major heads: (i)
homemaker’s contribution towards smooth functioning
of the household; (ii) loss of maternal support for
children; (iii) loss of spousal support; or support for
parents of the deceased. It was stated that this
composite sum of Rs. 30,000/- shall be granted
“provided that all three of these heads are met in the
given case” and that the said amount shall be revised
by 10% cumulative, every three years.
43. However, in view of the fact that it has not been
clarified by the Supreme Court whether the above
finding shall be applicable in both death and injury
cases and considering that the claimant in the present
case had suffered injuries, the above decision shall not
be strictly applicable in the case at hand, but principles
enunciated inform the decision of this Court as
discussed below.”
(emphasis added)
14. As noted in the paragraphs extracted above, the decision of Supreme
Court in Shishu Pal ( supra ) will be strictly applicable after satisfying all the
three heads in any given case and would therefore, not be applicable in this
case, since all the three heads are not met.
15. While the relevant minimum wages of a skilled worker were Rs.
8,528/- at the time of accident, keeping in view the decision of this Court in
Uma Rani ( supra ), the Court is inclined to consider the notional income of
deceased at Rs. 10,000/- .
16. Mr. Pankaj Seth , counsel for Insurance Company, on the other hand,
claims deduction of personal expenses as per Pranay Sethi ( supra ). The
Court is inclined to accept the plea of Insurance Company and considering
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that there were 3 dependants, 1/3 will be deducted towards personal
Signature Not Verified
MAC.APP. 76/2014 & MAC.APP. 275/2017 8/11
Digitally Signed By:RAHUL
KUMAR CHOUDHARY
Signing Date:06.11.2026
16:44:15
expenses.
17. Mr. Maini , has also challenged the rate of interest awarded at 7.5%
per annum. Reliance in this regard may be placed upon the judgment of the
Supreme Court in Kaushnuma Begum (Smt.) & Ors. v. New India
Assurance Co. Ltd. & Ors. , (2001) 2 SCC 9 wherein, while interpreting the
powers of the Tribunal under Section 171 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988
to award simple interest on compensation from the date of institution of the
claim petition, it was observed that the rate of interest awarded by
nationalised banks on fixed deposits ought to serve as the guiding factor
while determining the rate of interest payable on compensation amounts.
18. Considering that the rate of interest in 2012 was in the range of 8.50-
9% , the interest rate shall be considered at 9% instead of 7.5% as awarded
by the MACT.
19. Accordingly, the revised computation is as under:
S.
No.
Heads Awarded by the
Tribunal
Awarded by this
Court
1 Income of deceased (A) Rs. 7,748/-
Rs. 10,000/-
2 Add: Future Prospects (B) Rs. 1,937/- Rs. 4,000/-
3 Less: Personal expenses of
deceased (C)
Nil Rs. 4,667/-
4 Loss of dependency (A+B)-C=
(D)
Rs. 9,685/- Rs. 9,333/-
5 Annual loss of dependency (D x
12) = (E)
Rs. 1,16,220/- Rs. 1,11,996/-
6 Multiplier (F) 17 18
7 Total loss of dependency (E x F)
= (G)
Rs. 19,75,740/- Rs. 20,15,928/-
8 Medical Expenses (H) Rs. 5,000/- Rs. 5,000/-
Signature Not Verified
MAC.APP. 76/2014 & MAC.APP. 275/2017 9/11
Digitally Signed By:RAHUL
KUMAR CHOUDHARY
Signing Date:06.11.2026
16:44:15
9 Compensation for loss of
consortium (I)
Rs. 1,00,000/- Rs. 1,20,000/-
10 Compensation for loss of estate
(J)
Nil Rs. 15,000/-
11 Compensation towards funeral
expenses (K)
Rs. 25,000/- Rs. 15,000/-
12 Compensation for loss of care
and guidance (L)
Rs. 1,00,000/- Nil
13 Total compensation
(G+H+I+J +K +L)= (M)
Rs. 22,05,740/-
Rs. 21,70,928/-
14 Rate of Interest Awarded 7.5% 9%
15 Reduced Compensation Rs. 34,812/-
Directions
20. Accordingly, the compensation has been reduced by Rs. 34,812/-
(‘ reduced compensation ’).
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21. By order dated 27 January 2014, this Court had directed deposit of
the entire compensation amount before the Registrar General of this Court
and release of 80% of the compensation amount in favour of claimants as
per the terms of the impugned award.
22. Accordingly, if the amount originally deposited by Insurance
Company is less than the revised compensation, balance amount along
with interest at 9% per annum will be deposited by the Insurance
Company before the Registrar General of this Court within 4 weeks,
which will be released as lumpsum to claimants within 2 weeks
thereafter. Originally deposited amount shall continue to be released to
claimants as per the directions of impugned award.
23. However, if the amount originally deposited by Insurance Company
is more than the revised compensation, balance amount (originally
Signature Not Verified
MAC.APP. 76/2014 & MAC.APP. 275/2017 10/11
Digitally Signed By:RAHUL
KUMAR CHOUDHARY
Signing Date:06.11.2026
16:44:15
deposited amount – revised compensation), along with accrued interest,
shall be released to Insurance Company. Remaining balance amount shall
continue to be released to claimants as per the directions of impugned
award.
24. Accordingly, the appeals are disposed of.
25. Pending applications, if any, are rendered infructuous.
26. Statutory deposit, if any, be refunded to Insurance Company, only if
the order of deposit has been complied with.
27. Judgment be uploaded on the website of this Court.
(ANISH DAYAL)
JUDGE
NOVEMBER 3, 2026/MK/ sp
Signature Not Verified
MAC.APP. 76/2014 & MAC.APP. 275/2017 11/11
Digitally Signed By:RAHUL
KUMAR CHOUDHARY
Signing Date:06.11.2026
16:44:15