Future prospects and consortium awards must align with Pranay Sethi and Magma General Insurance guidelines.

On October 19, 2006, the deceased, Manojsinh Ajitsinh Zala, was riding a motorcycle when he was struck by a Gujarat State Road Transport Corporation (ST) bus driven at excessive speed.

The deceased, a 30-year-old permanent employee of M/s. Atul Auto Ltd. earning ₹3,220/- per month, succumbed to his injuries.

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (Auxiliary) at Gondal awarded ₹5,39,500/- with 9% interest in MACP No. 442/2006.

The appellants (claimants) challenged this judgment before the High Court seeking enhancement of compensation, particularly regarding future prospects and non-pecuniary heads.

1. Whether the Tribunal erred in calculating future prospects by applying a 30% rise instead of 50% for a permanent employee under the age of 40.

2. Whether the compensation awarded under non-pecuniary heads (consortium, funeral expenses, and estate) was consistent with established precedents.

The Court applied the principles of "just compensation" under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988.

It specifically relied on the landmark judgment in National Insurance Company Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi (2017) 16 SCC 680, which standardized the addition of 50% to actual salary for future prospects for permanent employees below 40 years of age and fixed conventional sums for loss of estate and funeral expenses.

It also applied Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Nanu Ram (2018) 18 SCC 130 regarding the distribution of spousal, parental, and filial consortium.

The Court observed that since the deceased was a permanent employee and 30 years old, the Tribunal’s application of a 30% increase for future prospects was insufficient and must be raised to 50% per Pranay Sethi.

Consequently, the monthly income was re-calculated at ₹4,800/-. After deducting 1/3 for personal expenses (based on three dependents) and applying a multiplier of 17, the loss of dependency was increased to ₹6,52,800/-.

The Court corrected the non-pecuniary awards by granting ₹48,400/- per dependent for consortium (totaling ₹1,45,200/-) and adjusting funeral expenses and loss of estate to ₹18,150/- each to align with current legal standards.

Finally, a 10% deduction for the deceased's contributory negligence was maintained.

The respondent Corporation was directed to deposit the additional amount with 9% interest per annum from the date of the claim petition within six weeks. The Court further ordered the disbursement of the amount to the claimants after verifying court fees.