Each of the deceased’s four dependents is entitled to ₹44,000 for loss of consortium.

Tanveer Ahmed, aged 36, died in a road accident on 29 February 2020.

The Claims Tribunal awarded his claimants ₹25,78,000 in compensation, assessing his annual salary income at ₹1,56,000 and awarding ₹1,21,000 under conventional heads.

The claimants appealed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement, including reassessment of income and higher conventional compensation

1. Whether the deceased’s annual income should be assessed above ₹1,56,000 based on the income-tax return showing additional interest income

2. Whether the compensation for loss of consortium and other conventional heads should be enhanced to account for all four dependents

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

In National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, (2017) 16 SCC 680, the Supreme Court set out the principles governing compensation under conventional heads, including loss of estate, funeral expenses and consortium.

Applying those principles, the Court treated each of the four dependents as entitled to ₹44,000 for loss of consortium; it retained ₹16,500 each for loss of estate and funeral expenses

The income-tax return showed gross salary of ₹1,56,000, as well as interest income of ₹1,05,800 and bank-savings income of ₹235. Because the source of the interest income was not clarified, the Court found no basis to revise the Tribunal’s assessment of salary income.

However, the Tribunal had awarded consortium for only two units, although there were four dependents, including respondent No. 4. The Court therefore recalculated consortium at ₹44,000 per dependent, while leaving the other conventional-head amounts unchanged

The claimants were awarded an additional ₹88,000 under conventional heads, being the difference between the recalculated total of ₹2,09,000 and the Tribunal’s award of ₹1,21,000.

The enhancement carries interest at 6% per annum from the date of filing the claim petition until realization; the remaining terms of the award remain unchanged

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