Summary
A 12-year-old Class 5 student, described by his mother as brilliant, was killed in 2003 when a jeep hit him outside his house in Jharkhand. The Tribunal awarded a lump sum of Rs 1.5 lakh. The Jharkhand High Court raised it to Rs 2 lakh, the amount claimed in the petition. The Supreme Court allowed the mother's appeal. In child-death cases the Court has raised the Second Schedule notional income of Rs 15,000 because of the fall in the rupee's value: Kishan Gopal took Rs 30,000 for a 10-year-old and Kurvan Ansari took Rs 25,000 for a 7-year-old. Applying Kishan Gopal, the Court took notional income of Rs 30,000 including future prospects and a multiplier of 15, giving Rs 4.5 lakh, and added Rs 50,000 for conventional heads, for a total of Rs 5 lakh. Following Nagappa, it held that an undervalued claim is no bar to awarding just compensation above the amount claimed.
Issues
- What is just compensation for the death of a 12-year-old child in a motor accident, and whether compensation may exceed the amount claimed in the petition.
Provisions considered
- Sections 166 and 168 and Second Schedule, Motor Vehicles Act, 1988Notional income for a child was taken above the Second Schedule figure of Rs 15,000 to reflect devaluation, and just compensation was awarded regardless of the valuation of the claim. (¶¶ 2, 10, 12, 13, 14)
Held
- In cases of child death, courts have enhanced the Second Schedule notional income on account of devaluation of the rupee; following Kishan Gopal, a notional income of Rs 30,000 including future prospects with a multiplier of 15 applies to a 12-year-old student. (¶¶ 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
- Compensation for the death was Rs 4,50,000 for loss of dependency plus Rs 50,000 under conventional heads, totalling Rs 5,00,000. (¶ 13)
- As held in Nagappa, there is no bar on awarding compensation exceeding the amount claimed; under-valuation of the claim is no impediment to just compensation. (¶ 14)
Result
Appeal allowed; compensation enhanced by Rs 3,00,000 to a total of Rs 5,00,000, the enhanced sum carrying 7% interest from the date of the claim petition, payable by the insurer within four weeks; parties to bear their own costs.