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Santosh Kumar vs. Amit Nehra & Ors.

Motor Accident Claims Appeal · 2026:DHC:7434Decided 2 Sept 2026New Delhi Bench
MAC.APP. 542/2025CNR: DLHC010615652025
Justice Anish Dayal

Background

The appellant, who ran his own tuition/coaching centre and held M.A. and B.Ed. degrees, suffered a 40% permanent disability to his right leg in an auto-rickshaw accident caused by a negligently driven SUV. The Tribunal had assessed his functional (income-earning) disability at just 10%, reasoning that a tutoring job doesn't need much physical mobility, and had denied him future-prospects loading on his income.

Decision Breakdown

The Court held that mobility matters for more than just the specific tasks of a job, it affects a person's overall capacity to sustain a livelihood, and increased his functional disability assessment from 10% to 20%. It also corrected the minimum wage figure used, added 40% future prospects appropriate to his age (33), and substantially raised the non-pecuniary (pain and suffering, loss of amenities) compensation, more than doubling his total award from about Rs. 5.66 lakh to about Rs. 9.22 lakh.

Lesson Learnt

Even for a desk-based or intellectual profession, a serious leg disability can meaningfully reduce someone's real earning capacity: compensation should reflect broader life impact, not just whether the job requires standing.

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