Notional income for deceased minors must be determined based on minimum wages of a skilled worker.

On December 25, 2016, a minor named Saurav was traveling on a motorcycle when he was hit from behind by an Eicher Truck driven rashly and negligently on the wrong side

Saurav succumbed to his injuries at GTB Hospital

The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT) awarded the legal representatives (LRs) ₹12,38,568/- with 9% interest, holding the driver liable and the insurance company (Respondent No. 3) responsible for payment

The MACT calculated compensation using the "inflation corrected notional income" method as per Chetan Malhotra v. Lala Ram

The Appellants filed the present appeal seeking enhancement of the compensation

The Court applied the principle that for fatal accidents involving minors, the notional income for loss of dependency should be based on the minimum wages of a skilled worker in the relevant state, as established in National Insurance Company Ltd. v. Sanju & Ors.

It applied a multiplier of 18 for minors, following Tata AIG General Insurance Company v. Mukesh Kumar & Ors.

Regarding future prospects and conventional heads, the Court followed National Insurance Company Limited v. Pranay Sethi, which mandates a 40% addition for future prospects, and fixed sums for loss of estate (₹15,000), funeral expenses (₹15,000), and loss of consortium (₹40,000 per claimant)

It also referenced United India Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Satinder Kaur to align non-pecuniary damages

The Court observed that the methodology for assessing a minor's income has evolved since the MACT's 2020 award

While the MACT used a notional income of ₹50,982 per annum, the High Court determined that the proper yardstick is the minimum wage of a skilled worker at the time of the accident, which was ₹11,622 per month

The Court applied the 18 multiplier and added 40% for future prospects

A deduction of one-half (1/2) was made for personal and living expenses as the deceased was a minor/bachelor

The Court further corrected the non-pecuniary damages; the MACT’s bulk award of ₹6,11,784 for non-pecuniary damages was replaced with specific awards for loss of consortium (₹80,000 for two claimants), loss of estate (₹15,000), and funeral expenses (₹15,000) to ensure consistency with the "thumb rule" established in Pranay Sethi

The Court directed the Insurance Company to deposit the enhanced amount with 9% interest per annum from the date of filing the petition within four weeks

The holding clarified that in cases of minor deaths, the skilled worker's minimum wage serves as the benchmark income

The Court ordered a lump sum release of ₹2,00,000 to the claimants, with the remainder to be secured in phased Fixed Deposit Receipts of ₹25,000 each