Minimum wages must determine income for motor accident compensation when cogent evidence of earnings is absent.

The appeal arises from a motor vehicle accident on May 22, 2021, where the deceased, Virambhai Parmar, was struck from behind by a rashly driven trailer while riding his motorcycle

The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), in MACP No. 7 of 2021, awarded the appellants Rs. 10,77,000/- with 9% interest

The appellants challenged this award on the grounds that the Tribunal undervalued the deceased's income (setting it at Rs. 6,000/- per month) and failed to account for appropriate future prospects and conventional heads

1. Whether the Tribunal erred in its assessment of the deceased's monthly income and the application of future prospects for calculating dependency loss

2. Whether the compensation awarded under conventional heads (consortium, funeral expenses, and loss of estate) was insufficient under established legal precedents

In the absence of cogent evidence of income, the court relied on the minimum wage standards for skilled workers prevalent at the time of the accident

It followed the mandates of National Insurance Company Limited v. Pranay Sethi & Ors. (2017) regarding the addition of 25% for future prospects for victims aged 40–50 and standardizing sums for conventional heads

Furthermore, it applied Magma General Insurance Company Limited v. Nanu Ram alias Chuhru Ram & Ors. (2018), which grants "parental" and "filial" consortium to children and parents respectively

The Court observed that while the claimants asserted the deceased earned Rs. 15,000/-, they failed to prove it with evidence; however, the Tribunal's assessment of Rs. 6,000/- was arbitrarily low

The Court corrected this by adopting the statutory minimum wage for a skilled worker (Rs. 9,495/-)

Applying the Pranay Sethi formula, the Court added 25% for future prospects (totaling Rs. 11,869/-) and deducted 1/4th for personal expenses given the four dependents

Utilizing a multiplier of 14 based on the age of 45, the dependency loss was recalculated to Rs. 14,95,536/-

Finally, the Court enhanced conventional heads to match standard inflation-adjusted rates and expanded consortium to all three eligible claimants (widow, son, and father)

The court ordered the respondents to deposit an additional enhanced amount of Rs. 6,00,000/- with 9% interest from the date of the claim petition until realization. The Tribunal was directed to disburse the entire amount to the claimants after verifying court fees