Unmarried siblings of deceased accident victim entitled to loss-of-consortium compensation, Chhattisgarh High Court holds

The claimants—deceased Virendra Kumar Anchal’s parents and two unmarried sisters—appealed under Section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, seeking enhancement of compensation awarded under Section 166.

The Tribunal had awarded ₹10,29,600 for the death of the 29-year-old in a truck–motorcycle collision, assessing his monthly income at ₹7,000, deducting one-half for personal expenses, and making no award for consortium.

The claimants sought a higher income assessment, a one-third deduction, and consortium; the insurer opposed enhancement.

Whether the deceased’s monthly income should be assessed above the Tribunal’s finding of ₹7,000, in light of the evidence of his garment business

Whether the Tribunal erred in deducting one-half of the deceased’s income towards personal expenses, given the four claimants

Whether the claimants were entitled to consortium and enhanced conventional damages, warranting an increase in the award

Under Sections 166 and 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a Claims Tribunal may award compensation for death in a motor accident, and the High Court may modify that award in appeal.

In assessing compensation, the Court applied the principles in National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi (2017) 16 SCC 680 concerning future prospects and conventional heads, and Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation (2009) 6 SCC 121 concerning personal-expense deductions and multipliers.

It also relied on Magma General Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Nanu Ram @ Chuhru Ram (2018) 18 SCC 130 in awarding consortium.

For this unmarried deceased, the Court upheld a one-half deduction, a 40% addition for future prospects, and a multiplier of 17; it awarded consortium at ₹44,000 for each of four claimants and enhanced loss of estate and funeral expenses by 10%.

Although the claimants produced no direct proof of income, the father’s testimony about the deceased’s ready-made-garment business was supported by purchase receipts, educational documents, and other records.

The Court therefore assessed monthly income at ₹14,000.

It rejected the proposed one-third deduction: the sisters’ dependency on the deceased was not established, and the deceased was unmarried; the Tribunal’s one-half deduction was not unsustainable.

The Court upheld the 40% future-prospects addition and multiplier of 17, increased the conventional amounts, and awarded consortium to all four claimants.

After crediting the Tribunal’s award, the appellants became entitled to an additional ₹11,78,600, with interest at 6% per annum from the date the claim application was filed until realization.

The remaining terms of the Tribunal’s award were left unchanged.