Entitlement to 40% Future Prospects and 9% Interest for Salaried and Self-Employed Victims

On November 20, 2013, Smt. Meenu Verma and Smt. Madhu Verma were fatally crushed by a speeding bus (UP-15AT-5682) owned by the Appellant while crossing the Delhi-Meerut Highway to reach a petrol pump

Their husbands (Claimants) were waiting in a parked car nearby

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), Shahdara, awarded compensation on February 27, 2016, attributing negligence to the bus driver

The owner appealed on grounds of contributory negligence

while the claimants filed cross-appeals seeking enhanced compensation, specifically regarding "future prospects"

Whether the deceased pedestrians were guilty of contributory negligence by crossing the highway at night

Whether the claimants are entitled to 40% future prospects and revised interest rates under current legal principles

The Court applied Section 171 of the Motor Vehicles Act regarding the grant of interest

It relied on National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi (2017) to determine future prospects (40% for those under 40 in private/variable employment) and standardizing "conventional heads"

It followed Sarla Verma v. DTC (2009) for multiplier and deduction principles

and United India Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Satinder Kaur (2021), which ruled that "loss of love and affection" is subsumed within "loss of consortium"

For interest rates, it applied Kaushnuma Begum v. New India Assurance Co. Ltd. (2001), linking rates to nationalized bank fixed deposits

The Court rejected the owner’s plea of contributory negligence, noting the site plan showed the deceased had almost completed crossing and were walking alongside the petrol pump when hit

The area was populated with public utilities, requiring the driver to exercise caution

In MAC.APP. 286/2016, the Court upheld the use of ITRs to determine income despite the lack of salary slips

In MAC.APP. 300/2016, the Court capped the guest teacher's income at Rs. 17,500/- per month as per government notifications but upheld an additional Rs. 7,000/- for private tuitions based on "potentiality of earning"

The Court corrected the MACT's omission of "future prospects" (adding 40%) and reduced the interest rate from 12% to a more realistic 9% based on 2013 economic data

It held that: (1) there was no contributory negligence

(2) Future prospects of 40% must be added

and (3) Loss of love and affection is deleted, while loss of consortium is fixed at Rs. 40,000 per claimant

Total compensation for Meenu Verma was increased to Rs. 46,99,360

and for Madhu Verma to Rs. 45,88,240, both with 9% interest per annum

The Court directed the release of Rs. 5,00,000 to each family immediately, with the remainder kept in FDRs