Vakil Help Desk News: a High Court has enhanced motor-accident compensation several times over, holding that income-tax returns cannot be brushed aside merely because computation sheets were not attached, and that a self-employed victim's income should not be reduced to minimum wages.
Vakil Help Desk News, Litigation & Courts. A High Court has substantially enhanced the compensation payable in a fatal motor-accident claim, correcting a Tribunal that had assessed the deceased's income on the basis of minimum wages.
What happened
The deceased was a 28-year-old self-employed businessman. His family produced income-tax returns for two successive years, but the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal disregarded them because the computation sheets were not attached, and instead fixed income at minimum wages.
What the Court held
- The absence of a computation sheet, by itself, is not a good enough reason to reject income-tax returns.
- Two years' returns, backed by oral evidence and an established business, are relevant material that a Tribunal must consider.
- A self-employed victim's income should not default to minimum wages when there is credible evidence of actual earnings.
- Applying the Supreme Court's Pranay Sethi framework, the Court added 40% towards future prospects, as the deceased was self-employed and under 40.
Compensation was raised from roughly ₹3.5 lakh to about ₹18.5 lakh.
What this means for you
If a claims tribunal has cut down a motor-accident award by ignoring income-tax returns on a technicality, or by treating a self-employed earner as a minimum-wage worker, that is a strong ground of appeal — and future prospects can be added for the self-employed. We advise families on motor-accident claims and on appeals to enhance inadequate compensation.