Four Children Of Crash Victim Get Rs 1.39 Lakh More As Karnataka HC Raises Consortium To Rs 44,000 Each

The appellants, the deceased Chikkashetty’s two daughters and two sons, sought enhancement of compensation awarded for his death in a road traffic accident on 26 May 2020.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded a total of ₹9,83,500, including ₹9,13,500 for loss of dependency, ₹15,000 each for loss of estate and funeral expenses, and ₹40,000 for consortium.

The claimants appealed under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement.

They did not seek enhancement of the amount awarded for loss of dependency.

The appeal was brought under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, which provides for an appeal against an award of a Claims Tribunal.

Relying on National Insurance Company v. Pranay Sethi, AIR 2017 SC 5157, the Court applied a 10% escalation to the conventional heads of consortium, loss of estate and funeral expenses, noting that the accident occurred more than three years after that decision.

The Court treated each claimant as entitled to consortium of ₹44,000 after escalation.

The Court left the loss-of-dependency award undisturbed because the claimants had not sought its enhancement.

As there were four claimants, it enhanced consortium to ₹44,000 each, totalling ₹1,76,000.

It also applied a 10% escalation to the Tribunal’s ₹15,000 awards for loss of estate and funeral expenses, increasing each to ₹16,500.

These adjustments increased total compensation to ₹11,22,500, or ₹1,39,000 above the Tribunal’s award.

The claimants were awarded enhanced compensation of ₹1,39,000, with interest at 6% per annum from the date of the petition until realization.

The insurer was directed to deposit the enhanced amount with interest before the Tribunal within six weeks, and the claimants were entitled to its release in equal shares.