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Kavita Devi v. Sunil Kumar

Civil Appeal · 2025 INSC 938Decided 6 Aug 2025
C.A. No.-010227-010227 - 2025 (@ Diary No. 47285/2018)
Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia · Justice Aravind Kumar

Background

The wife and two children of a man who died in a 2009 road accident in Gurgaon sought compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded Rs. 2,54,720, which the High Court enhanced to Rs. 7,23,680. Not satisfied, the family (claimants) appealed to the Supreme Court seeking a further increase in compensation.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that the deceased's full monthly salary of Rs. 6,500 (as shown in his salary slip) should have been used to compute compensation, rather than the reduced figure of Rs. 3,665 reached by excluding allowances on a technicality, since the allowances were consistently paid and used to support the family. Applying the standard formula from Sarla Verma and Pranay Sethi - deducting one-third for personal expenses, adding 50% for future prospects, and applying a multiplier of 16 - the Court recalculated the loss of dependency at Rs. 12,48,000, and added amounts for consortium, loss of estate and funeral expenses. Total compensation was raised to Rs. 14,29,500 with 7% interest (excluding certain delay periods), to be paid within 8 weeks, with the appeal allowed in part.

Lesson Learnt

When calculating compensation for a family that has lost a breadwinner, courts should count the deceased's actual take-home income, including allowances that were regularly received and used for the family's benefit - not just the stripped-down basic pay.

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

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