Considering 'future prospects', HC doubles compensation to Rs 18,71,600

NT Correspondent

Bengaluru:

The High Court of Karnataka en - hanced the compensation awarded to the mother of an accident victim from Rs 9,64,000 to Rs 18,71,600 after finding that the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal (MACT) had not considered the future earnings prospect of the deceased. “As seen from the impugned judgment, the Tribunal has not considered the future prospects and also the conventional heads. The future prospects should have been taken as 40% for an age below 40 years for a person who has no permanent job.

Postmortem report confirms that the deceased was aged 23 yeaRs Hence, the applicable multiplier is ‘18’,” the HC said while reassessing the compensation. Kamalabai, who had lost her son in an accident, approached the HC not satisfied with the compensation awarded by the Tribunal. Her son Maruthi had met with an accident while travelling on a motorcycle which was hit by a tractor. He succumbed to his injuries a few days later on August 7, 2018 in Solapur.

Kamalabai approached the Tribunal seeking a compensation of Rs 50,00,000. She claimed he was a professional driver earning Rs 20,000 per month. However, there was no proof of his employment. The Tribunal awarded Rs 9,64,000. She then approached the HC. The HC enhanced the compensation by calculating his monthly income on the higher side. It said, “The accident was in the year 2018, the Tribunal considered the income of the deceased at Rs 8,000 per month. Having regard to the evidence and the year of accident, it is on the lower side and it ought to have been assessed a minimum of Rs 11,750 per month. Hence, we assess the income of the deceased accordingly.”

The HC calculated the loss of dependency at Rs 17,76,600, loss of love and affection at Rs 40,000, funeral expenses at Rs 15,000, loss of estate at Rs 15,000 and medical expenses at Rs 25,000. “Then the total compensation comes to Rs 18,71,600 which is the just compensation to which the petitioner is entitled. The appeal filed by the petitioner deserves to be allowed in part by modifying the compensation from Rs 9,64,000 to Rs 18,71,600 by enhancing the amount to the tune of Rs 9,07,600,” the HC said.