7-Year-Old’s Death: P&H HC Cuts Parents’ Compensation To ₹20.45 Lakh, Using Skilled-Worker Minimum Wage Instead Of DC Rate

Yash, aged seven, died from injuries sustained in a motor vehicle accident on 21 February 2024.

His parents filed a claim petition, which the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Panipat allowed, assessing his monthly income at Rs.18,500.81 and awarding Rs.29,47,000 with interest at 6% per annum.

The insurer appealed, contending that the applicable minimum wage for a skilled worker was Rs.12,646.12 per month.

The claimants did not dispute that figure but argued that the higher Deputy Commissioner (DC) rate should be used.

For a minor who dies or suffers permanent disability in a motor vehicle accident, the child should not be treated as a non-earning individual merely because they were not employed; income for calculating compensation should be assessed, at minimum, by reference to the wages payable to a skilled worker under the applicable State notification.

DC rates do not have the statutory basis or sanction of rates fixed under the Minimum Wages Act, 1948, and may vary according to local factors; they are generally applicable to Government institutions and establishments and cannot be applied as a general measure of income in motor accident claims.

The Tribunal had assessed Yash’s income at Rs.18,500.81, but the applicable Haryana notification fixed the minimum monthly wage for a skilled worker at Rs.12,646.12.

Applying the rule for minors, the Court adopted the notified skilled-worker wage, rounded to Rs.12,646 per month.

It rejected the claimants’ reliance on DC rates because those rates lacked a statutory basis and were not a general measure for calculating income in motor accident claims.

On the revised income, the Court applied 40% future prospects, a 50% deduction for personal and living expenses, and a multiplier of 18, then added the conventional heads of compensation.

The insurer, driver, and owner were directed to deposit the modified amount jointly and severally within two months; the Tribunal was directed to disburse it to the claimants.