Anushka Sharma –
Published On: November 20, 2021 at 15:20 IST
The Supreme Court ruled that an accident Victim’s potential growth in income should be taken into account when evaluating compensation in motor vehicle accidents.
A Bench comprising justices M.R. Shah and Sanjiv Khanna said, “We are of the opinion that even in case of a deceased who was not serving at the time of Death and had no income at the time of Death, his legal heirs shall also be entitled to future prospects by adding future rise in income as held by this Court.”
When the Deceased was under the age of 40 years, the Court noted a prior decision in which the Deceased’s income was increased by 40% based on conjecture based on educational qualifications, family background, and other factors. The Victim’s family lawyer emphasised the Victim’s educational qualifications and bright future, claiming that the High Court made a mistake by setting the future income at Rs 5,000 per month and failing to account for future increases.
Prashant, 21 was a third year engineering student at the time of the accident.
The Top Court stated that the Deceased’s income should have been deemed at least Rs 10,000 per month, particularly in light of the fact that even under the Minimum Wages Act in 2012, labourers/skilled labourers were paid Rs 5,000 per month.
“The perception that he is likely to remain static and his income would remain stagnant is contrary to the Fundamental concept of human attitude, which always intends to live with dynamism and move and change with the time,” said the Bench.
The Top Court was hearing an Appeal by Prashant’s family members against a Madhya Pradesh High Court decision that partially upheld the Railways’ Appeal and cut the compensation sum from Rs 12,85,000 to Rs 6,10,000.