Chhattisgarh HC Raises Compensation For 25-Year-Old’s Death To ₹15.89 Lakh, Assessing Income At ₹9,960 Monthly Minimum Wage

The claimant appealed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement of compensation awarded for the death of her 25-year-old unmarried son, Sandeep Kumar Das, in a road accident on 30 April 2023.

The Claims Tribunal awarded ₹14,30,800, assessing his monthly income at ₹9,000.

The claimant contended that his income should have been assessed at the applicable minimum wage of ₹9,960 per month and that the award under conventional heads was inadequate.

The High Court condoned a 34-day delay, admitted the appeal, and heard it finally.

Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, provides for an appeal against an award of the Claims Tribunal.

In assessing compensation for a death, the Court applied the principles in National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, Sarla Verma & Ors. v. Delhi Transport Corporation & Ors., and Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Nanu Ram @ Chuhru Ram & Ors.

The Court used the applicable minimum-wage notification to assess income where the claimant’s assertion of higher earnings was unsupported by documents, and applied the relevant future-prospect, personal-expense deduction, multiplier, and conventional-head calculations.

The deceased’s claimed earnings of ₹700 per day were not supported by documentary evidence.

The Court therefore assessed his monthly income at ₹9,960, the minimum wage for unskilled labour under the applicable Chhattisgarh notification.

Applying a 40% addition for future prospects, a 50% deduction for personal expenses, and a multiplier of 18, the Court calculated loss of dependency at ₹15,05,952.

It also increased compensation under conventional heads from ₹70,000 to ₹84,000, resulting in total compensation of ₹15,89,952.

The award was enhanced from ₹14,30,800 to ₹15,89,952, entitling the claimant to an additional ₹1,59,152 with interest at 6% per annum from the date of filing the claim application until realization.

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

The Registry was directed to communicate the enhanced amount to the claimant in Hindi, with paralegal assistance if required.