JUDGMENT :

1. The task of adjudicating quantum of compensation payable under the non-pecuniary heads like pain and suffering, loss of amenities in life and loss of expectation of life, is not easy though appears to be easy. The task gets a bit more difficult if the claimant suffers a permanent disability at a young age. While quantifying the compensation under the non-pecuniary heads, the courts need to pause and ponder, particularly in a situation when the claimant suffers permanent disability.

2. Faced with a situation, where the claimant who suffered 40% permanent disability around his pelvic region, (on account of injuries which are referred later) claimed compensation of Rs.11,75,000=00, the Tribunal awarded a compensation of Rs.3,73,988=00. The doctor who treated the claimant assessed permanent disability at 40%. The doctor has opined that the claimant is unable to achieve a penile erection and nocturnal penile tumescence and thereby unable to copulate. According to the doctor, the condition is irreversible. Thus, the claimant who was aged 14 at the time of the accident, is