Minimum Wages Prevailing at the Time of Accident Must Govern Assessment of Deceased's Income

The appellants/claimants filed an appeal under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement of compensation awarded by the 1st Additional Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), Bilaspur

On June 12, 2023, the deceased (Yashwant Kumar, aged 20) died on the spot after being struck by a Mixer Machine (the offending vehicle) driven rashly and negligently by respondent No. 1

The claimants alleged the deceased earned ₹15,000 per month as a helper, but the Tribunal assessed his income at ₹9,960 per month, awarding a total of ₹16,58,952/-

Whether the monthly income assessed by the Tribunal was adequate and whether the total compensation awarded requires enhancement based on prevailing minimum wages and dependency

Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, regarding appeals against awards

Sarla Verma & Ors. v. Delhi Transport Corporation & Ors. (2009) 16 SCC 121 (standardizing multipliers and deductions)

National Insurance Company Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi and Others (2017) 16 SCC 680 (standardizing future prospects and conventional heads)

Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Nanu Ram @ Chuhru Ram & Ors. (2018) 18 SCC 130 (addressing parental and filial consortium)

The High Court re-evaluated the evidence regarding the deceased's age (20 years) and the date of the accident

The Court found that considering the minimum wages prevailing at the time and the nature of the deceased's job, the Tribunal’s assessment was too low and determined that ₹11,000 per month was a safe and appropriate income for calculation

Applying the Pranay Sethi guidelines, the court added 40% for future prospects (₹4,400) and deducted 1/2 for personal expenses as the deceased was single. Using the multiplier of 18 (as per Sarla Verma for age 20), the Court re-calculated the total loss of dependency to be ₹16,63,200/-, while maintaining the conventional heads (funeral, estate, and consortium) as awarded by the Tribunal

The Court directed the National Insurance Company (Respondent No. 3) to deposit the additional amount within 60 days with interest at 6% per annum from the date of appeal (12.11.2024). The Tribunal's award was modified accordingly