Summary
In a fatal-accident claim concerning a thirty-eight-year-old shopkeeper, the Supreme Court increased the assessed monthly income to Rs.2,500, applied multiplier sixteen and added forty per cent future prospects. It recomputed compensation at Rs.5,23,000 with nine per cent annual interest from the claim petition until payment.
Issues
- What income, multiplier and future-prospects allowance were appropriate on the record for recomputing dependency compensation.
Held
- A realistic assessment of the deceased’s business, the accident date and the circumstances supported monthly income of Rs.2,500 rather than Rs.1,200. At age thirty-eight, multiplier sixteen applied, with forty per cent future prospects under Pranay Sethi. (¶ 6)
- After one-third personal-expense deduction, the net annual income of Rs.20,000 became Rs.28,000 with future prospects. Loss of dependency was Rs.4,48,000; adding the judgment’s Rs.75,000 for conventional heads produced Rs.5,23,000, carrying nine per cent annual interest from the petition until payment. (¶¶ 6, 7)
Result
Appeal allowed; compensation enhanced to Rs.5,23,000 with nine per cent annual interest from the petition until payment. No costs.