Vijay Kumar Rastogi v. Uttar Pradesh State Roadways Transport Corporation
Background
In 2005, Vijay Kumar Rastogi, a medical representative, suffered serious injuries including a 25% permanent disability when the car he was travelling in was hit by a rashly driven bus belonging to the respondent Transport Corporation. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal computed his compensation using only his salary income of Rs.44,511 per annum, excluding his income from bank interest and sales commission (Rs.50,556) that was reflected in his income tax return showing a total taxable income of Rs.77,480; the Delhi High Court, while acknowledging this higher taxable income figure, still upheld the Tribunal's lower income figure and only enhanced the interest rate from 7% to 9%, refusing to enhance the compensation itself.
Decision Breakdown
The Supreme Court held that the High Court committed a "manifest error" by accepting the appellant's taxable income figure (Rs.77,480, after tax deduction Rs.72,984) in its own reasoning, yet still affirming the Tribunal's much lower salary-only figure, relying on its precedents (National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Indira Srivastava and others), the Court held that "income" for compensation purposes must include all amounts considered for income-tax purposes, including commission and interest, not merely basic salary. Recalculating on this corrected income base, the Court enhanced the "loss of income" and "loss of future income" heads by a combined Rs.2,85,966, with interest at 9% per annum from the date of filing the claim petition until realization. It rejected, however, the appellant's separate claim for Rs.80,000 in car-repair damages, since no document was produced before either the Tribunal, the High Court, or the Supreme Court itself to substantiate that expense. The appeals were allowed to this limited extent, with no order as to costs.
Lesson Learnt
When computing compensation for a motor-accident injury, "income" is not limited to salary alone: it must include all sources reflected in the claimant's income-tax return (such as commission or interest), since that is the income-tax-recognized measure of a person's actual earnings; separately, any additional claim (like property damage) still needs to be backed by actual supporting documents to be awarded.