Established employment may justify assessing income above minimum wage despite unsubstantiated salary documentation.

The claimants, parents of Uday Singh, appealed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement of compensation for his death in a road accident on 16 December 2019.

The Claims Tribunal awarded Rs. 16,65,061, assessing his monthly income at Rs. 10,030.

The claimants contended that he earned Rs. 18,000 per month as a supervisor at Om Traders and relied on a salary certificate and testimony from the business proprietor.

The insurer opposed reliance on the certificate, noting the absence of supporting employment or income records.

The proprietor confirmed issuing the certificate and the deceased’s employment but had produced no other documentary evidence to substantiate the employment or salary.

1. Whether the deceased’s monthly income should be assessed above the minimum wage of Rs. 10,030, and, if so, at what amount, given the salary certificate and the proprietor’s testimony.

2. Whether the compensation awarded by the Tribunal should be enhanced on the basis of the revised income assessment.

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

In assessing compensation, 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.

It applied a 40% addition for future prospects, a one-half deduction for personal expenses, a multiplier of 17, and amounts under conventional heads, alongside treatment expenses, to calculate compensation.

The salary certificate and the proprietor’s testimony supported the conclusion that the deceased was employed, but the absence of corroborating business or employment records made it inappropriate to accept the claimed monthly salary of Rs. 18,000.

Because the deceased was 27 and employed, and the Tribunal’s minimum-wage assessment of Rs. 10,030 did not adequately reflect the evidence, the Court fixed monthly income at Rs. 15,000.

Applying the compensation principles and calculation components set out in its table, the Court assessed total compensation at Rs. 23,63,777, including treatment expenses of Rs. 1,11,777.

The claimants were awarded an additional Rs. 6,98,716, with interest at 6% per annum from the date of filing the claim application until realization.

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