Gauhati HC Raises Widow And Children’s Crash-Death Award Interest To 9% From Filing, Rejects DA-Based Income Increase

The appellants, the widow and children of Ranjit Kumar Chanda, sought enhancement of compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Kamrup (M), for his death in a road accident on 22 November 2010.

The deceased was a Senior Accounts Officer with the Assam State Transport Corporation (ASTC).

The Tribunal awarded ₹32,27,696, including dependency compensation calculated from a monthly salary of ₹22,380 less professional tax, and granted interest at 6% per annum from the date evidence was adduced.

The claimants appealed, challenging the income assessment and the rate and commencement date of interest

Section 171 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 empowers the Tribunal to award simple interest at a rate and from a date it specifies, but not from a date earlier than the claim.

The rate should be just and reasonable, having regard to relevant circumstances; the Court relied on Kaushnuma Begum v. New India Assurance Co. Ltd., Supe Dei v. National Insurance Co. Ltd., and the cited decisions in Narendra Singh v. Nishant Sharma and New India Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Lata Agarwala, which supported 9% per annum in the circumstances

The Court also applied National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi on conventional heads, including that “loss of love and affection” is not a separate compensable head.

Although DA may form part of salary, income must be determined from the evidence in the particular case

The salary statement and November 2010 salary slip showed monthly pay of ₹22,380, without separately identified DA.

The later salary particulars relied on by the claimants projected salary from December 2010 onward on the assumption that the deceased had survived; the Court held that this speculative material did not establish DA payable at the date of death and declined to enhance the income assessment.

On interest, the Court considered the cited authorities supporting 9% per annum and found no basis for starting interest only when evidence was adduced, particularly as there was no indication that the claimants had unnecessarily delayed the proceedings.

It therefore directed that interest run from the filing date.

The Court left the conventional-head awards undisturbed, treating the amount awarded for loss of love and affection as, in substance, consortium and finding no need to alter the overall award under those heads

The compensation award otherwise remained unchanged, but interest was increased from 6% to 9% per annum and made payable from the date the claim petition was filed.

United India Insurance Company was directed to pay the balance within 45 days; if it failed to do so, further interest at 9% per annum would accrue