(A) Motor Vehicles Act (59 of 1988) , S.168, S.166, S.163, Sch.II— Motor accident – Compensation – Income of deceased child – Determination – Tribunal awarded amount of compensation reckoning income of 10 years’ old child at Rs.5,000/- p.m. relying on judgment of Division Bench of High Court – There is no straight jacket formula as to the income to be adopted in the case of children when they suffer injuries or succumb to death, in a motor vehicle accident – Without giving any reason, High Court deviated from said monthly income and merely adopted income as per Schedule II – Schedule II is applied in cases where claim is made under Section 163A of the Act, which proceeds on ‘no fault liability’ – Present claim had been preferred u/s 166 of the Act and negligence was found on the part of driver of offending vehicle – Monthly income of Rs.5,000/- as adopted by Tribunal was proper.
Judgment of Madurai Bench of Madras High Court-Reversed(Paras3456)
(B) Motor Vehicles Act (59 of 1988) , S.168— Motor accident – Reduction in compensation – Challenge against – Monthly income of deceased child as assessed by Tribunal was proper – There was no question of any deduction for personal expenses – Multiplier adopted was 15 and considering age of mother as 36 , total compensation for loss of dependency would be more than that awarded by Tribunal – Compensation was awarded under the head ‘loss of love and affection’ – Funeral expenses were rightly reduced by High Court – There was no rationale for High Court to have deleted transportation expenses and loss of dress, ornaments and cycle – Compensation for loss of estate was rightly awarded – Just compensation was awarded for loss of filial consortium as applicable to both parents – Order of Tribunal was restored and order of High Court was set aside.
AIR 2017 SC 5157-Relied on(Paras67)