Motor accident compensation must reflect properly assessed income and conventional damages.

The claimants appealed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, against the common judgment and award dated 27 February 2012 in Motor Accident Claim Petition Nos. 620 and 1253 of 2003, contending that the compensation was inadequate.

The High Court noted that the accident-related facts and the owner’s and insurer’s liability were not disputed; the challenge concerned the assessment of compensation

The Tribunal had awarded Rs. 1,60,206

Whether the Tribunal’s assessment of compensation required interference and enhancement

Whether the claimants were entitled to interest on the enhanced compensation and consequential directions for payment

Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, provides for an appeal against an award of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal

The governing principle is that compensation under the Act must be just, fair, reasonable, and based on a realistic assessment of the loss; the Tribunal must endeavour to award just compensation

The Court relied on *National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi*, (2017) 16 SCC 680, for the conventional sums of Rs. 18,150 each towards loss of estate and funeral expenses, and on *United India Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Satinder Kaur @ Satwinder Kaur*, (2021) 11 SCC 780, for consortium of Rs. 48,400 per dependent

The Court found that the Tribunal had not properly considered the deceased’s monthly income and recalculated the compensation, while leaving the undisputed accident and liability findings undisturbed

It stated the revised compensation as Rs. 3,33,297, comprising future dependency loss, medical expenses, special diet, transportation and attendant charges, pain, shock and suffering, and actual loss. After deducting the previously awarded Rs. 1,60,206, it assessed the enhancement at Rs. 1,73,091

The insurer was directed to deposit the enhanced amount with interest within eight weeks; the Tribunal was directed to disburse the amount in accordance with the stated procedure and deduct any unpaid court fees as required by law