Six Dependants’ Accident Compensation Rises To ₹6.16 Lakh, Though P&H HC Rejects Family’s Unproved ₹15,000 Monthly Business-Income Claim

The claimants—the deceased’s widow, three children and parents—appealed against the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal’s award of Rs. 2,67,500 for his death in a motor-vehicle accident.

They sought enhancement, disputing the assessment of his income, the multiplier and deduction for personal expenses, and the absence or inadequacy of amounts for future prospects and conventional heads.

The deceased was 40; the Tribunal assessed his monthly income at Rs. 2,050, applied a one-third deduction and multiplier of 16.

The claimants asserted that he earned Rs. 15,000 per month from a milk dairy and grocery shop, but produced no corroborating evidence of that income or vocation.

Under National Insurance Company Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, 2017 (16) SCC 680, future prospects are to be included in calculating loss of dependency; for a deceased aged 40, the Court applied a 25% addition.

Under Smt. Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation, 2009 (6) SCC 121, the applicable multiplier for a deceased aged 40 is 15, and the personal-expense deduction depends on the number of dependants; the Court applied a one-fourth deduction for six dependants.

A claimed income in the unorganised sector may be assessed from surrounding circumstances, but an uncorroborated oral assertion, without supporting material, is insufficient to establish the claimed earnings.

The Court also applied the conventional-head amounts stated in its judgment and referred to the pending reference in Hasina Yasmin v. National Insurance Co. Ltd., 2025 SCC OnLine SC 2919.

The Court upheld the Tribunal’s income assessment because the claimants offered no corroborating evidence of the alleged dairy and grocery businesses or the claimed Rs. 15,000 monthly income; it therefore retained the minimum-wage-based income of Rs. 2,050 per month.

As the deceased was 40 and left six dependants, the Court added 25% for future prospects, applied a multiplier of 15 and deducted one-fourth for personal expenses, producing a loss-of-dependency award of Rs. 3,45,960.

It added compensation for funeral expenses, loss of estate and spousal, parental and filial consortium.

Total compensation was reassessed at Rs. 6,15,960, resulting in an enhancement of Rs. 3,48,460 over the Tribunal’s award.

The enhanced compensation was payable with 7.5% interest from the filing of the claim petition, except that interest on conventional heads was payable from August 2017 until realization; apportionment and liability remained as ordered by the Tribunal.

The claimants were left free to seek any further conventional-head amount if the Supreme Court’s decision in the Hasina Yasmin reference favoured them.