Compensation must reflect minimum wages, future prospects, and individual consortium for each dependent claimant.

The appellants, legal heirs of the deceased Ramshankar Shriwas, filed an appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement of the compensation awarded by the Claims Tribunal via an order dated 01.02.2019

The Tribunal had awarded a total sum of Rs. 8,62,000 as compensation

The appellants contended that the Tribunal erred by assessing the deceased's monthly income at Rs. 9,000 instead of the Rs. 9,780 prescribed by the Chhattisgarh Minimum Wages Notification

They further argued that the Tribunal failed to award future prospects and provided insufficient amounts under conventional heads such as loss of estate and consortium

The Respondent-Insurance Company maintained that the Tribunal's assessment was just, given the lack of clinching evidence regarding the deceased's income

1. Whether the Claims Tribunal erred in assessing the monthly income of the deceased and excluding future prospects from the calculation

2. Whether the compensation awarded under conventional heads (loss of estate, funeral expenses, and consortium) required enhancement in accordance with established precedents

Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988

principles for calculating compensation established in National Insurance Company Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi (2017) 16 SCC 680 regarding future prospects and conventional heads

Sarla Verma & Ors. v. Delhi Transport Corporation & Ors. (2009) 6 SCC 121 to determine the appropriate multiplier and deductions for personal expenses

Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Nanu Ram @ Chuhru Ram & Ors. (2018) 18 SCC 130 to award consortium to each of the three appellants individually

The Chhattisgarh Minimum Wages Notification was used as the basis for determining notional income

The Court found that the Tribunal’s assessment of income was undervalued; it revised the monthly income to Rs. 9,780 in alignment with the Minimum Wages Notification

Applying Pranay Sethi, the Court added 10% to the income for future prospects, which the Tribunal had previously omitted

Using the Sarla Verma formula, the Court applied a 1/3 deduction for personal expenses and a multiplier of 11, resulting in a loss of dependency of Rs. 9,46,704

Regarding conventional heads, the Court enhanced the awards for loss of estate and funeral expenses to Rs. 18,000 each

Most significantly, per Magma General Insurance, the Court awarded loss of consortium at Rs. 40,000 for each of the three appellants (totaling Rs. 1,20,000), rather than a lump sum of Rs. 40,000

The Court directed the Insurance Company to deposit the additional sum within 45 days, with interest at 8% per annum from the date of the claim application

The appeal was allowed in part, while all other conditions of the original award remained intact