Major, Married & Earning Children Of Deceased Victim Have Right To Apply For Motor Accident Compensation: Supreme Court

Post By 24law
February 15, 2025

Pranav B Prem

The Supreme Court has reiterated that major, married, and earning children of a deceased victim, as legal representatives, have the right to apply for motor accident compensation. This significant ruling came while modifying the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal’s (MACT) award by increasing the compensation granted to the dependants of the deceased.

Background

A Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra was hearing an appeal challenging the Punjab and Haryana High Court's decision, which excluded the appellants—major sons and a married daughter—from being considered dependants of the deceased.

The case arose from an accident on May 13, 2015, in which Dev Raj, aged 50, was fatally injured when his scooter was hit by a rashly driven bus. His family members, including his wife, daughter, and two sons, filed a claim seeking compensation of Rs. 50,00,000/-. The MACT awarded them Rs. 24,36,155/- along with interest at 7% per annum, considering the deceased’s monthly income as Rs. 23,345/-. The Tribunal held that all four appellants were dependants of the deceased. The insurance company challenged this decision, arguing that the major sons and the married daughter were not dependants and that a higher deduction should be applied. The High Court, while accepting the claimants' request for an increase in future prospects, also upheld the insurance company’s contention and excluded the major children from dependency calculations. Consequently, it increased the deduction to 50% and awarded Rs. 24,44,183/- as compensation.

Supreme Court’s Observations

The Supreme Court overturned the High Court’s ruling and held: “We are unable to agree with the view taken by the Tribunal on the dependents of the deceased.”

The Bench relied on its decision in National Insurance Company Limited v. Birender (2020), which established that: “Major married and earning sons of the deceased, being legal representatives, have a right to apply for compensation, and the Tribunal must consider the application, irrespective of whether the representatives are fully dependent on the deceased or not.”

Examining the facts, the Court noted: “On a perusal of the statement of Shashi Kumar, the son of the deceased (Appellant No.2 herein), annexed as Annexure P6, was working at a petrol pump, while the other son was involved in temporary employment opportunities only. Both of them were residing with the deceased. In such circumstances, it cannot be said that they were self-sufficient or independent of the deceased.” The Court further emphasized that: “Similarly, applying the exposition in Birender (Supra), there is no reason to exclude a married daughter from compensation. Therefore, in view of this, the High Court erred in excluding these dependants.”

Revised Compensation

Based on its findings, the Supreme Court recalculated the compensation as follows:

Compensation Heads	Amount Awarded
Yearly Income	Rs. 2,80,140/-
Future Prospects (30%)	Rs. 3,64,182/-
Deduction (1/4)	Rs. 2,73,137/-
Multiplier (13)	Rs. 35,50,781/-
Loss of Estate	Rs. 18,150/-
Loss of Funeral Expenses	Rs. 18,150/-
Loss of Consortium	Rs. 1,93,600/-
Total	Rs. 37,80,681/-

This revised compensation significantly increased the amount awarded to the appellants compared to both the MACT and High Court rulings.

Verdict

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, modifying the compensation amount and affirming the right of major, married, and earning children to be considered legal representatives for motor accident claims. The Bench concluded: “The Civil Appeal is allowed in the aforesaid terms. The impugned award…passed…by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Bathinda, as modified vide the impugned order, stands further modified accordingly. Interest is to be paid as awarded by the Tribunal.”