Karnataka HC Raises Compensation For Agricultural Coolie’s Widow, Son And Mother To ₹14.37 Lakh, With 9% Interest

The claimants—the deceased’s wife, minor son and mother—appealed under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement of compensation awarded under Section 166 in respect of his death in a road accident on 9 December 2012.

The Tribunal fixed compensation at ₹8,48,000, including ₹4,000 monthly income for calculating dependency, and awarded interest at 6% per annum.

The accident and the insurer’s liability were undisputed.

Under Sections 166 and 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a claimant may seek compensation for death in a motor-vehicle accident and appeal the Tribunal’s award.

The Court applied the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority’s notional-income chart to assess the income of the deceased, treated as an agricultural coolie, at ₹6,500 per month for a 2012 accident.

It relied on National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, 2017 (16) SCC 680, for the addition of future prospects and the conventional-head amounts, including periodic 10% enhancement every three years.

On interest, it relied on Puttamma v. K.L. Narayana Reddy, (2013) 15 SCC 45, concerning relevant economic factors in fixing interest, and United India Insurance Co. v. Malyadari, MFA No. 3895/2018, which considered 9% per annum appropriate in cases involving death and serious injuries.

The Court found that the record showed the deceased had agricultural land but did not establish that he personally carried out agricultural operations or the income derived from the land.

It therefore assessed him as an agricultural coolie and fixed monthly income at ₹6,500 under the applicable notional-income chart.

Applying the Tribunal’s 1/3 deduction for personal expenses and multiplier of 17, the Court added 40% future prospects, producing loss-of-dependency compensation of ₹12,37,464.

It recalculated consortium for the three claimants at ₹53,240 each and increased funeral expenses and loss of estate in accordance with the applicable enhancement principle.

In light of the cited authorities, it also increased the interest rate from 6% to 9% per annum.

The claimants were awarded total compensation of ₹14,37,114, with interest at 9% per annum from the date of the petition until realization.

The insurer was directed to deposit the enhanced compensation with accrued interest before the jurisdictional Tribunal within eight weeks of receiving a certified copy of the judgment, and the Registry was directed to draw a modified award.