The Supreme Court has set aside a Madras High Court order that had reduced compensation for the death of a 10-year-old boy, restoring the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal’s award of ₹8.55 lakh to his parents. The child was fatally injured while cycling to school after being hit by a Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation bus.
The Tribunal had fixed the boy’s notional monthly income at ₹5,000, applied a multiplier of 18, and made deductions for personal expenses, also awarding amounts for love and affection, funeral expenses, transportation, and loss of dress, ornaments, and cycle.
The High Court, however, reduced the income assessment by adopting ₹30,000 annually as per Schedule II of the Motor Vehicles Act, applied a lower multiplier of 15 based on the mother’s age, and deleted certain heads of compensation, cutting the total to ₹5.8 lakh.
Justice K. Vinod Chandran, writing for the Bench, held that Schedule II applies only to no-fault liability claims under Section 163A, not negligence-based claims under Section 166, and found no basis for the High Court’s deviation from the Tribunal’s method or deletion of certain awards. While the Court calculated that a just compensation could amount to ₹8.7 lakh, it restored the Tribunal’s original award since the parents had not appealed for enhancement. The transport corporation was directed to pay the amount, after adjusting sums already paid, within a month with applicable interest.
