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Gayatree Pattnaik for Shreejita Pattnaik v. Arundhati Sahoo

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 785Decided 3 Aug 2026
C.A. No.-007067-007067 - 2026
Justice Ujjal Bhuyan · Justice N.V. Anjaria · Justice Atul S. Chandurkar

Background

In June 2015, six-month-old Shreejita Pattnaik was travelling with her parents when their car was struck head-on by a rashly driven tanker, leaving her with severe spinal cord and neurological injuries. She was later diagnosed with post-traumatic myelopathy with paraplegia and certified as 90% permanently disabled, requiring lifelong medical care and assistance. Her mother, Gayatree Pattnaik, pursued a compensation claim on her behalf. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT) in Cuttack awarded about Rs. 30.13 lakh, which the Orissa High Court enhanced to about Rs. 45.41 lakh on appeal, but reduced the "multiplier" used to calculate future loss of income from 18 (used by MACT) to 15. The family appealed to the Supreme Court seeking further enhancement.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and substantially increased the compensation to Rs. 83,38,360, with interest raised from 6% to 9% per annum from the date of filing the claim. It restored the multiplier of 18 (rejecting the High Court's reduction to 15), holding that recent precedent supports using the higher multiplier for very young victims with catastrophic, lifelong disability. Relying on the Court's earlier ruling in Kajal v. Jagdish Chand, the bench emphasized that compensation in cases involving children with permanent, severe disability must be assessed liberally, since the claim can only be awarded once and cannot be revisited later, and increased amounts awarded for attendant charges, pain and suffering/loss of amenities/marriage prospects, future medical treatment, and conveyance and special diet, while leaving the medical-expenses figure undisturbed.

Lesson Learnt

In motor accident compensation cases involving children who suffer permanent, severe disability, courts are expected to take a liberal, welfare-oriented approach (including using a higher income multiplier and generously assessing non-pecuniary heads like pain, suffering, and lifelong attendant care) because such compensation, once awarded, cannot be revisited if it later proves inadequate.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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