Compensation enhanced by indexing income to Minimum Wages Notification and revising awards under conventional heads.

The appellants/claimants, legal heirs of the deceased Ghanshyam Koushik, filed an appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement of the compensation awarded by the 5th Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), Bilaspur

By an award dated 12.03.2019, the MACT had granted ₹6,40,800 with interest for the death of the deceased

The claimants contended that the MACT erred by assessing the deceased's monthly income at ₹6,000 instead of ₹7,000 as per the Chhattisgarh Minimum Wages Notification and by awarding insufficient amounts under conventional heads like funeral expenses, loss of estate, and consortium

1. Whether the Claims Tribunal erred in assessing the monthly income of the deceased at ₹6,000 instead of the prevailing minimum wage

2. Whether the compensation awarded under the conventional heads of funeral expenses, loss of estate, and consortium required enhancement in accordance with settled legal principles

Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, regarding appeals against compensation awards

Chhattisgarh Minimum Wages Notification issued by the Labour Commissioner for income assessment

Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation (2009) 6 SCC 121 regarding multipliers and deductions

National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi (2017) 16 SCC 680 regarding future prospects and conventional heads

Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Nanu Ram @ Chuhru Ram (2018) 18 SCC 130 regarding the calculation of consortium

The Court found that the MACT’s assessment of monthly income at ₹6,000 was improper, concluding that it should be ₹7,000 (totaling ₹84,000 per annum) based on the Minimum Wages Notification

Following the formula in Pranay Sethi, the Court added 10% for future prospects and applied a 1/3 deduction for personal expenses as per Sarla Verma, resulting in a dependency income of ₹61,600 per annum

Using the established multiplier of 11, the loss of dependency was calculated at ₹6,77,600

The Court determined that the amounts for "Loss of Estate" and "Funeral Expenses" were inadequate and increased them to ₹16,500 each

Applying the "filial and spousal consortium" principles from Magma General, the Court awarded ₹44,000 to each of the three claimants, totaling ₹1,32,000 for consortium

The claimants are entitled to an additional amount of ₹2,01,800

The Court directed the respondent insurer to deposit the enhanced amount within three months, carrying interest at 6% per annum from the date of the claim application until realization

All other conditions of the original award remained intact