Notional income for an undocumented self-employed painter in a 2021 accident enhanced to ₹19,000 monthly.

The appellants, the deceased’s wife, three minor children and mother, sought enhancement of compensation awarded for his death in a motorcycle accident on 27 January 2021.

The Tribunal found the motorcycle rider solely negligent and fixed the deceased’s age at 45, relying on the Accident Register and Post Mortem Certificate. As there was no documentary proof of income, it assessed his monthly income at Rs.15,200 and awarded total compensation of Rs.26,57,000. The claimants appealed, contending that the deceased was a self-employed painter and that the income assessment was inadequate.

Whether the Tribunal’s assessment of the deceased’s monthly income at Rs.15,200 was inadequate and warranted enhancement

Whether the compensation under the dependency and consortium heads required modification

Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 provides for an appeal to the High Court against an award of the Claims Tribunal.

Under National Insurance Company Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, (2017) 16 SCC 680, future prospects are added when calculating loss of dependency; the Court applied a 25% addition in this case.

Under Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation, 2009 (2) TNMAC 1 (SC), the applicable multiplier is determined by the deceased’s age, and the Court applied multiplier 14 for a deceased aged 45.

The Court also referred to Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Nanuram, (2018) 18 SCC 130, in addressing consortium compensation.

The Court accepted that the deceased was 45, as recorded in the Accident Register and Post Mortem Certificate, and considered the accident year and the cost of living in finding the Tribunal’s income assessment too low.

It increased the monthly income to Rs.19,000, added 25% for future prospects, deducted one-fourth for personal expenses, and applied multiplier 14, producing loss-of-dependency compensation of Rs.29,92,500.

It reduced consortium compensation from Rs.44,000 to Rs.40,000 for each of the five claimants, while confirming the Tribunal’s awards under the other heads.

The insurer was directed to deposit the amount, less any sum already deposited, with interest at 7.5% per annum from the date of the claim petition until deposit, subject to the stated exclusion for any period of default. The judgment also directed payment and investment of the claimants’ shares in accordance with the specified arrangements for the adult and minor claimants.