Motorcyclist held 10% contributorily negligent for entering a highway junction without due care.

Pratul Sharma died in a road accident on 21 August 2022 while riding a motorcycle. His parents sought compensation, alleging that the accident was caused by the negligent driving of a Toyota Qualis.

The Tribunal awarded them ₹99,41,356 with 6% annual interest and held the insurer liable. The insurer appealed, disputing liability on the basis of alleged contributory negligence; the parents cross-appealed, seeking enhanced compensation.

Whether the deceased’s conduct amounted to contributory negligence and warranted apportionment of liability

Whether the Tribunal’s assessment of compensation required enhancement, including its assessment of income and conventional heads

The appeals were brought under Section 173(1) of the Motor Vehicles Act.

The Court applied principles of contributory negligence to apportion responsibility based on the evidence concerning the accident.

For compensation, it assessed the deceased’s income after deducting income tax and professional tax, added 50% future prospects for his permanent employment and age, deducted 50% for personal expenses because he was a bachelor, and applied a multiplier of 17. It also allowed consortium for each parent and applied 10% escalation to the conventional heads of loss of estate and funeral expenses.

The Court considered the charge sheet against both the deceased and the car driver, the accident location and road conditions, and the damage to the car’s front. It found that the car driver, entering a National Highway at a junction, bore the greater share of responsibility, but that the deceased also ought to have exercised care while entering the junction. It therefore attributed 90% negligence to the car driver and 10% to the deceased.

For compensation, the Court took the deceased’s net monthly income as ₹79,291, applied the stated future-prospects, personal-expense and multiplier calculations, and revised the conventional heads. The resulting gross compensation was ₹1,22,52,472; after deducting 10% for the deceased’s contributory negligence, the award was ₹1,10,27,225.

The insurer was directed to deposit the enhanced amount with interest within six weeks, and the claimants were permitted to receive the enhanced compensation equally.