Income Assessment Requires Judicial Guesswork Beyond Minimum Wages Based on Educational Qualifications and Testimony

On August 13, 2012, Dhirendra Kumar Chaudhary was killed in a motor accident involving a motorcycle driven by Respondent No. 6

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) awarded a compensation of Rs. 11,71,735/- with 12% interest per annum, holding the driver liable for rash and negligent driving

Both the Insurance Company and the claimants filed cross-appeals: the former seeking reduction based on legal principles of "Standardization," and the thereof seeking enhancement based on the deceased's educational qualifications and actual income

1. Whether the conventional heads of compensation (consortium, funeral expenses, and loss of estate) should be re-aligned in accordance with established Supreme Court precedents

2. Whether the income of the deceased can be assessed higher than the minimum wages based on oral testimony and educational certificates in the absence of documentary salary proof

3. Whether the interest rate of 12% awarded by the Tribunal is excessive and needs adjustment

The Court primarily applied the principles of National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi (2017) regarding future prospects and the standardization of conventional heads (consortium at Rs. 40,000 per dependent; funeral expenses and loss of estate at Rs. 15,000 each)

It relied on United India Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Satinder Kaur (2021) to delete the "loss of love and affection" head to avoid duplication

For income assessment through "guesswork" in the absence of salary slips, the court followed Chandra v. Mukesh Kumar Yadav (2022) and Savita Ors. v. National Insurance Company Ltd. (2026)

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

The Court found that while the MACT used minimum wages for a semi-skilled worker (Rs. 5,161/-), subsequent verified certificates proved the deceased was a skilled worker with Intermediate qualifications

Following the "guesswork" principle from Chandra, the Court accepted the widow's cogent oral testimony that the deceased earned Rs. 10,000/- p.m., noting her specific details of his employment at VRTS Industries

Applying Pranay Sethi, the Court added 40% for future prospects for the 35-year-old deceased and corrected the conventional heads: increasing consortium to Rs. 2,00,000/- (Rs. 40k x 5 dependents) while reducing funeral expenses and loss of estate to Rs. 15,000/- each

The Court further reduced the interest rate from 12% to 9.25% to match the 2012 prevailing bank rates

The Insurance Company was directed to deposit the additional amount with UCO Bank within four weeks, with specific directions for the release of Rs. 3,00,000/- to the claimants and the remainder to be kept in phased Fixed Deposit Receipts (FDRs) to ensure long-term financial security; the statutory deposit was ordered to be refunded to the Insurance Company