S. Chandrasekharan & Ors. vs M. Dinakar & Anr.

Court

Supreme Court of India

Date

11 July 2022

Case No.

Civil Appeal Nos. 4688-4689 of 2022

Result

Allowed

Bench

Dinesh Maheshwari, Aniruddha Bose

Citation

[2022] 12 S.C.R. 288 : 2022 INSC 701

Headnote

Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 – s. 166, 168 – Compensation – Enhancement of – Accident occurred which resulted into death of wife of appellant – Claim was lodged by the appellant before the Tribunal – Tribunal awarded compensation of Rs. 36,92,350/- and as at the time of accident the deceased was unemployed, the monthly income of deceased was calculated on basis of her husband’s income (following the judgment of Arun Kumar Agrawal and anothers) – However, the High Court considered the deceased’s salary in a job where she was engaged three years prior to the accident as the basis for quantifying the pecuniary loss to be awarded and reduced the amount of compensation to Rs. 32,82,090/- – On appeal, held: There is a long time gap between the time she was in employment and the occurrence of the accident thus her salary would be an unreliable guide for fixing her notional income – The Tribunal had rightly followed the course laid down in the case of Arun Kumar Agrawal – Deduction in pecuniary loss by the High Court not correct – The deduction of 1/3rd of determined income of the deceased towards personal expenses is valid on the basis of the decision of Supreme Court in the case of Sarla Verma – Loss of future prospect was not considered by the Tribunal and the High Court to arrive at the quantum of pecuniary loss – Further, loss of love and affection is comprehended in the loss of consortium, High Court not justified to award compensation towards loss of love and affection as a separate head – Considering the aforementioned factors, the compensation was set to Rs. 46,17,350/- – Appeals allowed.

Arun Kumar Agrawal and Another v. National Insurance Company Ltd. and Others. [(2010) 9 SCC 218 : [2010]

9 SCR 303 – relied on.

Sarla Verma (Smt) and Others v. Delhi Transport Corporation and Another (2009) 6 SCC 121;

Rajendra Singh and Others v. National Insurance Company Limited and Others [(2020) 7 SCC 256 : [2020] 6 SCR 579 – referred to.

The Judgment of the Court was delivered by ANIRUDDHA BOSE, J. Leave granted. 2. The appellants before us are the claimants in an action for compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (1988 Act). An accident had occurred on 28th February 2011 at about 10:45 A.M., which resulted in death of one Bala Babitha, a 37 year old lady, and caused injuries to her husband and her minor daughter. The first appellant is the husband of the deceased. The second and the third appellants are their children, who were minors by age at the point of time the accident occurred. The fourth appellant is the mo

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