Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation

2025 Supreme(Online)(Del) 46323

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI
Prateek Jalan, J
NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LTD – Appellant
Versus
SANJU AND ORS – Respondent
MAC.APP. 30/2025|CM APPL. 2297/2025|MAC.APP. 39/2025|CM APPL. 2601/2025|MAC.APP. 40/2025|CM APPL. 2606/2025|MAC.APP. 751/2025|CM APPLs. 74237-38/2025|MAC.APP. 80/2025

Advocates:
For the Appellants/Petitioners: Aditya Singh, Shubham Singh, Kamal Kishor, Vaibhav Singh, Rajesh Kumar, Pankaj Gupta
For the Respondents: Tanya Singh, Vaibhav Verma, Ved Vyas Tripathi, Shrey Chathly, R.K. Tripathi

For children under 15 in motor accident claims (death or injury), notional income for calculating loss of dependency must be based on the minimum wages of a skilled worker in the respective State, using a multiplier of 18.

Headnote:The court examined the determination of loss of dependency for children under 15 years in fatal accidents under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The primary dispute centered on whether to apply a static notional income as per the Second Schedule or the minimum wages of a skilled worker. The court found that the previous approach of using a fixed notional income was outdated and that the potential earning capacity of a child should be recognized. The central issue was whether a distinction exists between injury cases and fatal accident cases when determining notional income for minors. The court reasoned that in both scenarios, the loss is based on a notional reckoning of the child's potential income. Relying on Hitesh Nagjibhai Patel and Devendra Kumar Tripathi, the court held that the computation of compensation ought to be made by adopting, at the very least, the minimum wages payable to a skilled workman in the respective State. The appeals filed by the Insurance Companies were dismissed, and the award in MAC.APP. 80/2025 was enhanced from Rs.5,40,000/- to Rs.29,16,726/-.

Table of Content
1. overview of appeals regarding determination of loss of dependency for children under 15. (Para 1 , 2 , 3 , 4)
2. analysis of the traditional use of static notional income for minors. (Para 5 , 6 , 7 , 8)
3. shift towards using minimum wages of a skilled worker for minor victims. (Para 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14)
4. minimum wages as the unified yardstick for both death and injury cases of minors. (Para 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22)
5. application of multiplier 18 for children under 15 years of age. (Para 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27)
6. re-calculation of compensation for mac.app. 80/2025 based on skilled worker wages. (Para 28 , 29 , 30)
7. final disposal of appeals and directions for payment of compensation. (Para 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39)

PRATEEK JALAN, J. (ORAL)

1. These five appeals have been heard together, as they all concern a common question, viz., the appropriate parameters for determination of loss of dependency in claims arising out of fatal accidents involving children below the age of 15 years. The appeals have been filed by the Insurance Companies in four cases [MAC.APP. 30/2025, MAC.APP. 39/2025, MAC.APP. 40/2025, and MAC.APP. 751/2025], and by the parents of the deceased [claimants before the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal] in the fifth case, i.e. MAC.APP. 80/2025.

2. The facts of each case, to the extent of involvement of the insured vehicles and findings of negligence against the drivers of the insured vehicles, as a result of which the child lost his/her life, are not disputed. It is, therefore, not necessary to advert to those facts in detail.

3. The background relating to each victim and the consequent award of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal [“Tribunal”] are enumerated in the table below:

Appeal No.	MAC.APP. 30/2025	MAC.APP. 39/2025	MAC.APP. 40/2025	MAC.APP. 751/2025	MAC.APP. 80/2025
Case No. before the Tribunal	MACT No. 658/2018	MACT No. 657/2018	MACT No. 662/2018	MACT No. 534/2023	MACT No. 233/2020
Date of the accident	15.03.2018	15.03.2018	15.03.2018	07.04.2023	24.09.2020
Name and age of the victim	Khushi 12 years	Nisha 7 years	Arjun 14 years	Ankit 7 years	Yadav Umesh 10 years
Income taken by the Tribunal for computation of dependency	Rs.9,118.66 per month	Rs.9,118.66 per month	Rs.9,118.66 per month	Rs.20,903 per month	Rs.30,000 per annum
Multiplier adopted by the Tribunal	18	18	18	18	15
Award on account of loss of dependency	Rs.13,79,000	Rs.13,79,000	Rs.13,79,000	Rs.31,60,533	Rs.4,50,000
Award on account of loss of consortium	Rs.48,400	Rs.48,400	Rs.48,400	Rs.96,800	Rs.80,000
Award on account of loss of estate	Rs.18,150	Rs.18,150	Rs.18,150	Rs.18,150	Rs.15,000
Award on account of funeral expenses	Rs.18,150	Rs.18,150	Rs.18,150	Rs.18,150	Rs.15,000
Total Compensation awarded	Rs.14,64,000	Rs.14,64,000	Rs.14,64,000	Rs.32,94,000	Rs.5,45,000

4. I have heard Mr. Aditya Singh, Mr. Vaibhav Singh, and Mr. R.K. Tripathi, learned counsel for the Insurance Companies, and Ms. Tanya Singh, Mr. Pankaj Gupta, and Mr. Shrey Chathly, learned counsel for the claimants.

A. APPLICABILITY OF NOTIONAL INCOME AS PER THE SECOND SCHEDULE VIS-À-VIS MINIMUM WAGES

5. The principal ground urged by learned counsel for the Insurance Companies is that loss of dependency in such cases must be computed on the basis of “notional income” of a minor, as was provided under Section 163-A of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 [“the Act”], prior to its amendment by the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019. A number of authorities of the Supreme Court have been cited in support of this proposition, commencing with the decision in Lata Wadhwa v. State of Bihar , (2001) 8 SCC 197, followed by R. K. Malik v. Kiran Pal , (2009) 14 SCC 1 [hereinafter, “R. K. Malik”], Kishan Gopal v. Lala , (2014) 1 SCC 244 [hereinafter, “Kishan Gopal”], Puttamma v. K.L. Narayana Reddy , (2013) 15 SCC 45, Kurvan Ansari v. Shyam Kishore Murmu , (2022) 1 SCC 317 [hereinafter, “Kur

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2025 Supreme(Online)(Del) 46323

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHIPrateek Jalan, JNATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LTD – AppellantVersusSANJU AND ORS – RespondentMAC.APP. 30/2025|CM APPL. 2297/2025|MAC.APP. 39/2025|CM APPL. 2601/2025|MAC.APP. 40/2025|CM APPL. 2606/2025|MAC.APP. 751/2025|CM APPLs. 74237-38/2025|MAC.APP. 80/2025

For children under 15 in motor accident claims (death or injury), notional income for calculating loss of dependency must be based on the minimum wages of a skilled worker in the respective State, using a multiplier of 18.

Cases Referred (10)