Facts
The appellants/claimants (parents and brothers of the deceased) filed an appeal seeking enhancement of compensation awarded by the Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Katghora, via award dated 28-01-2019
Source reference: p. 1-2The deceased, Umashankar Shrivas, aged 31-35, died in a motor accident while running a barber shop
Source reference: p. 2The Tribunal initially awarded ₹11,55,000/- based on a monthly income of ₹5,000/-
Source reference: p. 2The appellants contended that the deceased was a skilled laborer and his income should be calculated as per the Minimum Wages Act notification of 2021
Source reference: p. 2Issues
1. Whether the monthly income assessed by the Claims Tribunal was adequate and consistent with the Chhattisgarh Minimum Wages Notification for a skilled worker
Source reference: p. 3, para 52. Whether the compensation under the heads of future prospects, loss of consortium, and funeral expenses required adjustment as per settled legal precedents
Source reference: p. 3, para 6Law Applied
The Court applied the standards for calculating motor accident compensation established in Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation for determining the multiplier and deductions, further refined by National Insurance Company Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi [(2017) 16 SCC 680] regarding future prospects and conventional heads
Source reference: p. 3, para 6It also relied on Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Nanu Ram @ Chuhru Ram [(2018) 18 SCC 130] concerning the award of "filial consortium" to parents and siblings
Source reference: p. 3, para 6Additionally, the court applied the Chhattisgarh Minimum Wages Notification to determine the base income of a skilled worker
Source reference: p. 3, para 5Reasoning
The High Court found that the Tribunal erred in fixing the monthly income at ₹5,000/-. Given that the deceased ran a barber shop, the Court determined he should be treated as a skilled laborer with a monthly income of ₹7,930/- as per the applicable Minimum Wages Notification
Source reference: p. 3, para 5The Court recalculated the dependency by applying a 40% addition for future prospects (replacing the Tribunal's 50%), a 1/4th deduction for personal expenses (due to four dependents), and a multiplier of 16
Source reference: p. 4Furthermore, the Court corrected the conventional heads: reducing funeral expenses to ₹15,000/-, adding ₹15,000/- for loss of estate, and significantly increasing the loss of consortium to ₹1,60,000/- (₹40,000/- each for four claimants) as per the Magma General principle
Source reference: p. 4Holding
The Court partially allowed the appeal, answering the issues in the affirmative for enhancement. It held that the total compensation be increased from ₹11,55,000/- to ₹17,88,688/-, entitling the appellants to an additional amount of ₹6,33,688/-
The Court ordered the respondent to deposit the enhanced amount within 45 days, carrying interest @ 7% per annum from the date of the claim application (01-07-2017) until realization
Source reference: p. 4, para 7Original Court PDF
DASHRATH SHRIVASvsSADDAM HUSSAIN HASMI
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