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Smt. Neelam and Ors. v. Ganga Singh and Ors.

Civil Appeal · 2026 INSC 512Decided 15 May 2026
C.A. No.-007935-007935 - 2026
Justice Sanjay Kumar · Justice K. Vinod Chandran

Background

A man died after a tractor being driven rashly and negligently struck the motorcycle he was riding, leaving behind his widow and three children. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal at Gwalior fixed his monthly income at Rs. 4,000 and awarded Rs. 6,16,000 with 7% interest; the High Court later enhanced this to Rs. 8,26,000 applying the Constitution Bench ruling in National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi. The widow and children approached the Supreme Court seeking further enhancement, arguing the deceased actually ran a tent-decoration business and earned more than what was assessed.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court held that although no documentary proof (such as income tax returns) was produced to establish the higher claimed income of Rs. 15,000/month, the fact that the deceased held a PAN card and the oral evidence of witnesses justified assuming an income higher than that of an unskilled labourer/coolie. The Court fixed the notional monthly income at Rs. 10,000 and recalculated total compensation (loss of income, loss of consortium, loss of estate, and funeral expenses) at Rs. 20,40,000. It also extended "loss of consortium" to the children as filial consortium, following New India Assurance Company v. Somwati, rather than restricting it to the widow alone as the High Court had done. The appeal was allowed with these enhanced directions, payable within two months.

Lesson Learnt

In motor accident claims, even without formal income documents, a PAN card plus credible oral testimony can support a reasonable income estimate for compensation purposes; also, consortium compensation is not limited to a spouse: children can also claim it for loss of a parent's companionship.

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

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