Multiplier for motor accident compensation depends on deceased’s age, with standardized personal expense deductions for bachelors.

On October 19, 2010, Pappu Pal (the deceased), aged 20, was traveling as a helper/conductor in a Tata truck when it was hit by a rashly driven Canter at NH-24

The deceased succumbed to his injuries. The parents and three minor siblings of the deceased filed a claim petition.

On August 31, 2013, the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) awarded compensation of Rs. 5,80,392 with 7.5% interest

Both the Insurance Company and the claimants filed cross-appeals: the former seeking modification and the latter seeking enhancement of the award

1. Whether the deceased’s income should be assessed as a "skilled worker" based on his vocation as a helper/conductor

2. Whether the multiplier should be determined by the age of the deceased or the age of the dependents

3. Whether the deduction for personal and living expenses should be 1/2 or 1/3, given the large number of dependents

4. Whether "loss of love and affection" is maintainable as a separate head of compensation alongside "loss of consortium"

The court primarily applied the principles of Sarla Verma v. DTC (2009) regarding the selection of the multiplier and deduction for personal expenses

It relied on National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi (2017) to grant 40% future prospects for a deceased below 40 years of age and to standardize conventional heads such as loss of estate and funeral expenses

It further applied United India Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Satinder Kaur (2021), which ruled that "loss of love and affection" is subsumed under "loss of consortium"

considered the interpretation of "filial consortium" from Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Nanu Ram (2018)

The court held that the deceased could not be classified as a "skilled worker" as he was only a "helper," maintaining the minimum wage for unskilled workers

Following Pranay Sethi, the court increased future prospects from 30% to 40%

It corrected the multiplier from 13 to 18, clarifying that the multiplier is based on the age of the deceased (20 years)

Regarding personal deductions, the court distinguished the facts from Nanu Ram; since the parents were relatively young (40 and 45 years) and not aged, the court refused to deviate from the standard 50% deduction for bachelors to avoid "unnecessary subjectivity"

Finally, the court deleted the award for "loss of love and affection," replacing it with "loss of consortium" calculated at Rs. 40,000 for each of the five family members

The court directed the Insurance Company to deposit the enhanced amount with 7.5% interest per annum from the date of the petition within four weeks

The Registrar General was directed to release the balance 20% of the original award plus the enhanced amount to the claimants according to the Tribunal's scheme

The statutory deposit was ordered to be refunded to the Insurance Company