The Delhi High Court has dismissed an appeal filed by Oriental Insurance Company challenging a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) award of ₹17.95 lakh granted to the family of a three-year-old girl who died in a road accident in Meerut in January 2022.
Justice Anish Dayal rejected the insurer’s contention that the Tribunal had erred in applying a multiplier of 18 and adopting the minimum wages of a skilled worker while computing compensation for the death of a minor child.
The case arose from an accident in which a girl child, aged three years, lost her life after the car in which she was travelling with her father was hit by a truck allegedly being driven rashly and negligently near Meerut. The MACT had awarded compensation of ₹17,95,672 along with interest at 9% per annum.
The court referred to Rubi Devi v. New India Assurance Co. Ltd., 2026:DHC:3674, in which it was held that in cases involving the death of a child below 15 years of age, compensation should be computed by taking the minimum wages payable to a skilled worker as the benchmark income and by applying a multiplier of 18.
Finding no infirmity in the Tribunal’s approach, the Court dismissed the appeal and directed release of the remaining 50% of the compensation amount, along with accrued interest, to the claimant in terms of the MACT award.
