The Kerala High Court has held that the siblings are not entitled to any motor accident compensation under the head loss of love and affection in a case of death. The High Court also made a deduction of ₹3,60,000 under this head, but awarded an enhanced total compensation.

The appeal before the High Court was filed by the legal heirs of a motor accident claimant, challenging the quantum of compensation awarded by the tribunal.

The Single Bench of Justice Shoba Annamma Eapen held, “Thus following the judgment in V.Pathmavathi (supra), Pranay Sethi (supra) and Magma General Insurance (supra), I find that the siblings are not entitled for any compensation under the head loss of love and affection. In the present case, the tribunal has awarded an amount of ₹4,00,000/- under the head loss of love and affection. I find that the 1 st claimant alone is entitled for an amount of 40,000/- ₹ towards loss of consortium. Hence, there will be a deduction of ₹3,60,000/- under the afore head.”

Advocate Avm. Salahudin represented the appellant, while Standing Counsel P.K.Manojkumar represented the Respondent.

Factual Background

The incident dates back to the year 2014 when the deceased met with an accident while riding his scooter. A motorcycle ridden by the second respondent in a rash and negligent manner hit the scooter. As a result of the accident, the deceased sustained serious injuries and later succumbed to the injuries on the same day. The claimants, being the mother and siblings of the deceased, approached the tribunal claiming compensation.

The first and second respondents/owner and rider of the offending vehicle filed a written statement admitting the accident but denying negligence. It was their case that the accident occurred due to the deceased’s negligence. The tribunal awarded a sum of Rs 12,94,360 as compensation under different heads with interest from the date of the petition till realisation with proportionate costs against the insurer of the offending vehicle (third respondent). Dissatisfied with the compensation, the claimants approached the High Court.

Reasoning

The Bench, at the outset, reaffirmed that there should not be any reduction of total compensation awarded, in a claimant’s appeal. The Bench also noticed that the constitutional Bench of the Apex Court in National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi (2017) had recognised only three conventional heads under which compensation could be awarded in a death case, which were loss of estate, loss of consortium and funeral expenses. However, in Magma General Insurance Co.Ltd. v. Nanu Ram Alias Chuhru Ram (2018), the Apex Court gave a comprehensive interpretation to the concept of consortium to include spousal consortium, parental consortium and filial consortium.

Holding that the siblings are not entitled to any compensation under the head loss of love and affection, the Bench held that there would be a deduction of Rs 3,60,000 under the afore-mentioned head.

Allowing the appeal in part, the Bench awarded the appellants/claimants an additional amount of Rs 2,66,400 over and above the amount awarded by the tribunal with interest and proportionate costs against the respondent, being the insurer.

Cause Title: Mariyakutty United India Insurance Company Ltd. (Neutral Citation: 2026:KER:16880)

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Kerala High CourtJustice Shoba Annamma Eapen

Tulip Kanth

Assistant Editor

Tulip Kanth is an Assistant Editor at Verdictum having over 5 years of experience in the field of legal journalism and editing. She extensively covers judgments of the Supreme Court, High Courts as well as Tribunals. She has previously worked with a legal publishing website where she oversaw the work of other editors and has also created updates on notifications of different Government Ministries. She holds an English Honours Degree from SGTB Khalsa College, Delhi University and has completed her LLB course with specialisation in Corporate Law from Amity University.