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Shashikala & Ors. v. Gangalakshmamma & Anr.

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 2836 of 2015)Decided 13 Mar 2015
Civil Appeal No. 2836 of 2015
Justice V. Gopala Gowda · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

This is a referral order, not a final judgment. Claimants in a motor accident death case sought higher compensation, including an addition for future prospects where the deceased was self-employed.

Decision Breakdown

This is a referral order, not a final judgment. The Court recalculated the income of the deceased and enhanced the compensation to Rs. 19,32,310, which is Rs. 4,62,938 more than the High Court's award, without deciding whether an addition for future prospects should be made. The two judges disagreed only on that question, which was already pending before a larger Bench in National Insurance Co. v. Pushpa. They directed that the question be placed before the Chief Justice of India for a larger Bench and ordered that the agreed enhanced amount be paid within four weeks in the meantime.

Lesson Learnt

There is no final ruling yet on whether a percentage should be added for future prospects when the accident victim was self-employed. The agreed part of the enhanced compensation is payable now.

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

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