Summary
The Court affirmed consortium awards to spouses, children and parents in motor-accident death claims but removed separate awards for loss of love and affection. Consortium encompasses spousal, parental and filial relationships; love and affection is already included in that head. Earlier decisions that had not considered the disputed issue did not establish contrary rules. The tribunals were directed to recompute the awards, and a direction diverting one insurer’s statutory deposit to a fund was also set aside.
Issues
- Whether consortium was confined to the spouse or available to children and parents.
- Whether loss of love and affection could be awarded separately.
- Whether the additional statutory-deposit direction could stand.
Held
- Consortium encompasses spousal, parental and filial consortium. Pranay Sethi did not decide that the amount was payable only to a wife; the later binding decisions supported awards to each eligible claimant in these cases. (¶¶ 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
- Loss of love and affection is comprehended within consortium and is not a separate conventional head. Its additional award duplicated compensation and had to be removed. (¶¶ 33, 34, 35, 40, 47)
- A judgment awarding only spousal consortium without a claim or consideration of other family consortium does not establish that others are excluded. Likewise, maintaining an award in a claimants’ appeal without a challenge to the separate head did not decide its legal correctness. (¶¶ 41, 42, 43, 44, 45)
- In the Rinku Devi appeal, the direction sending the insurer’s statutory deposit and accrued interest to the AASRA fund was also set aside. (¶ 46)
Result
All appeals partly allowed. Separate loss-of-love-and-affection awards set aside; consortium awards retained and tribunals directed to recompute and proceed according to law. AASRA deposit direction in the specified appeal set aside. No costs.