Each eligible dependent is entitled to separate consortium compensation in a fatal accident claim.

The claimants appealed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement of compensation awarded for the death of Pokhan Sahu in a road accident on 12 September 2024.

The Claims Tribunal had awarded ₹18,81,000, assessing the deceased’s monthly income at ₹9,000 as an unskilled labourer.

The claimants asserted that he had worked as a head cook and earned ₹21,000 per month, relying on an employer’s certificate; however, the person who issued it was not examined before the Tribunal.

They also challenged the amounts awarded under the conventional heads

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

In assessing compensation for dependency, the Court applied the principles in National Insurance Company Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, Sarla Verma & Ors. v. Delhi Transport Corporation & Ors., and Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Nanu Ram @ Chuhru Ram & Ors.: future prospects, the deduction for the deceased’s personal expenses, the appropriate multiplier, and consortium are to be assessed consistently with those precedents.

The Court also relied on the Chhattisgarh minimum-wage notification applicable to unskilled labour to assess income where the claimed earnings were not established by reliable evidence.

The Court declined to rely on the employer’s certificate because its issuer had not been examined and the claimants had produced no other cogent evidence establishing either the claimed income of ₹21,000 or that the deceased was a skilled worker. It therefore assessed his monthly income at ₹10,380, the applicable minimum wage for unskilled labour on the accident date.

The Court retained the Tribunal’s 40% addition for future prospects, one-fourth deduction for personal expenses, and multiplier of 15, but increased consortium from ₹1,44,000 to ₹2,40,000, awarding ₹48,000 to each of the five claimants. It maintained ₹18,000 each for loss of estate and funeral expenses.

The remaining terms of the Tribunal’s award were left unchanged, and the Registry was directed to communicate the enhanced amount to the claimants in Hindi.