Adult unemployed children residing with the deceased may qualify as dependants for loss-of-dependency compensation.

On 28 September 2021, Kallappa Bagadi was struck by a tractor and trailer while standing by the Belagavi–Nesargi Road and died from his injuries.

His wife and three children sought compensation, alleging negligent driving.

The Tribunal awarded ₹17,03,500, including ₹16,33,500 for loss of dependency.

The insurer appealed, challenging the compensation and the children’s status as dependants; the claimants cross-appealed seeking enhancement.

Whether the compensation awarded by the Tribunal required modification, including whether the deceased’s adult children were dependants and were entitled to consortium

What order should be made on the insurer’s and claimants’ appeals

Under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, an aggrieved party may appeal a Tribunal’s award.

Where income is not proved, the court may assess notional income by reference to the Karnataka Legal Services Authority’s chart.

Applying National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, (2017) 16 SCC 680, the court added 10% of established income as future prospects for a deceased aged between 50 and 60, and applied a 10% escalation to conventional heads.

For the dependency calculation, the court applied a one-fourth deduction for personal expenses where the deceased left four dependants and a multiplier of 11.

The deceased’s asserted agricultural income was unsupported by evidence, so the court substituted the chart-based monthly income of ₹14,250 for the Tribunal’s ₹15,000 assessment. It added 10% future prospects, deducted one-fourth for personal expenses, and applied multiplier 11, calculating loss of dependency at ₹15,51,792.

The court rejected the insurer’s contention that the adult children were not dependants: they had no stated occupation or definite income and lived with the deceased and his wife, and the court inferred that they shared household income.

It increased consortium to ₹40,000 for each of the four claimants, with 10% escalation, and increased funeral expenses and loss of estate to a combined ₹33,000.

The resulting total was ₹17,60,792.

The award was modified to grant total compensation of ₹17,60,792, with interest at 6% per annum from the date of the petition until realisation, subject to exclusion of interest for the 169-day delay in filing the appeal.

The respondents were held jointly and severally liable, and the insurer was directed to deposit the amount within eight weeks of receiving the certified judgment.