A deceased aged 60 is entitled to a 10% addition for future prospects.

Rajkumar Kumbhkar, aged about 60, died after falling from an auto-rickshaw when its driver suddenly applied the brakes.

His widow and two sons sought compensation under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded ₹7,93,008.

The claimants appealed under Section 173, limiting their challenge to the Tribunal’s failure to add future prospects and its reduction of the deceased’s income by 10%.

Whether the deceased’s income should include an addition for future prospects in calculating loss of dependency.

Whether the compensation should be enhanced on that basis.

Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act provides for an appeal against an award of a Claims Tribunal, while Section 166 provides the basis for a claim arising from a motor-vehicle accident.

Relying on National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, (2017) 16 SCC 680, the Court applied a 10% addition for future prospects in the deceased’s case.

It also referred to Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation, (2009) 6 SCC 121, and Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Nanu Ram @ Chuhru Ram, (2018) 18 SCC 130, in recomputing compensation; the multiplier, personal-expense deduction, and other heads were not challenged.

The Court accepted the claimants’ limited submission that future prospects had not been added and that the income had instead been reduced by 10%.

As the deceased was about 60 years old, it added 10% for future prospects to the annual income of ₹1,13,520, applied the undisputed one-third deduction for personal expenses and multiplier of 9, and recalculated loss of dependency at ₹7,49,232.

It left the Tribunal’s awards for loss of estate, funeral expenses, and consortium unchanged.

The total compensation was enhanced from ₹7,93,008 to ₹9,29,232, entitling the appellants to an additional ₹1,36,224, with interest at 6% per annum from the date the claim application was filed until realization.

The remaining terms of the Tribunal’s award were left unchanged.