Enhancement of compensation for minor's death by assessing notional income and awarding parental consortium.

On November 2, 1994, a minor, Satishbhai (aged 11), was traveling in an S.T. Bus when it collided with a truck.

Satishbhai sustained grievous injuries and succumbed to them.

The claimants (parents and siblings) filed a claim petition (M.A.C.P. No. 1250 of 1994) before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (Aux.), Ahmedabad (Rural).

The Tribunal awarded a sum of Rs. 1,54,500/- with 7.5% interest, considering the deceased's annual income at Rs. 18,000/-.

Dissatisfied with the quantum of compensation, the claimants preferred this First Appeal for enhancement.

1. Whether the income assessed by the Tribunal for the minor deceased was inadequate and required enhancement based on judicial precedents.

2. Whether the claimants are entitled to additional compensation under the heads of "loss of consortium," "loss of estate," and "funeral expenses".

The Court primarily applied the principles of "just compensation" under the Motor Vehicles Act.

It relied on Kishan Gopal and Another v. Lala and Others (2013) and Meena Devi v. Nunu Chand Mahto and Others (2022) to establish that the notional income for a minor child should be assessed at Rs. 30,000/- per annum.

Regarding future prospects, the Court followed National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi (2017), allowing a 40% addition to income.

It further applied Pranay Sethi for standardized awards under conventional heads (funeral expenses and estate loss) and Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Nanu Ram (2018) to grant "filial consortium" to both parents.

The Court found the Tribunal’s assessment of Rs. 18,000/- annual income to be on the lower side.

Following the Kishan Gopal and Meena Devi precedents, the Court reassessed the minor's income at Rs. 30,000/- per annum.

To this, a 40% addition (Rs. 12,000/-) was made for future prospects, totaling Rs. 42,000/-.

Since the deceased was a bachelor, 50% was deducted for personal expenses, leaving a dependency of Rs. 21,000/-, which was then multiplied by a factor of 15 as per Pranay Sethi, totaling Rs. 3,15,000/-.

The Court also corrected the "meagre" amounts previously awarded for funeral expenses and loss of estate, increasing them to Rs. 18,150/- each, and awarded Rs. 96,800/- for loss of consortium to both parents, which the Tribunal had entirely omitted.

The total compensation was enhanced to Rs. 4,48,100/-, resulting in an additional award of Rs. 2,93,600/-.

The Court directed the Insurance Companies to deposit the additional amount with 7.5% interest per annum from the date of the petition till realization within six weeks. The Tribunal was directed to disburse the amount to the claimants after verifying court fees.