The Supreme Court fixed Rs 10,000 as the notional monthly income of a student who suffered grievous injuries in an accident and reiterated that the notional income of a student undergoing a Degree course should not be taken to be equivalent to the minimum wages admissible to an unskilled worker.

The Appeal before the Apex Court was filed at the instance of the claimant-appellant, who was aggrieved by the amount of motor accident compensation awarded by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The Division Bench comprising Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Manmohan held, “In the attending facts, taking the notional income to be Rs.10,000/- per month, the compensation to be awarded would be recomputed…”

AOR Bharat Bhushan represented the Appellant while AOR Anand Sukumar represented the Respondents.

Factual Background

The incident dates back to the year 2012, when the claimant-appellant namely, Deepak along with his friend Bhagwan Singh were riding a motorcycle when they collided with a Scorpio, which was being driven at a fast pace, rashly and negligently, from the wrong side. Bhagwan Singh succumbed to the injuries on the spot while the claimant appellant suffered grievous injuries. An FIR was registered under Sections 279, 337, 304- A and 427 of the Indian Penal Code.The Claimant-Appellant filed the claim petition.

The Tribunal awarded a sum of Rs.7,09,303 as compensation to the petitioner. In Appeal, the High Court enhanced the compensation to Rs 23,90,719 and the interest part remained undisturbed. Still aggrieved, the appellant approached the Apex Court.

Arguments

The claimant-appellant took issue with the High Court’s reliance on minimum wages to calculate compensation. Reliance was placed upon a judgment of the Apex Court in Navjot Singh v. Harpreet Singh (2020).

Reasoning

The Bench noted that while dealing with the claim of compensation of a similarly placed individual, i.e., a student in his twenties, the Apex Court in Harpreet Singh (supra) took exception to equating the notional income of an Engineering student to that of an unskilled worker.

It was held therein that the notional income of a student undergoing a Degree course in Engineering from a premier institute should not be taken to be equivalent to the minimum wages admissible to an unskilled worker. Students recruited through campus interviews are atleast offered a sum of Rs.20,000 per month. The Court therein had taken the notional monthly income of the appellant as Rs.10,000 per month.

“In the present facts, the accident took place in the year 2012. Hence, reliance can be placed on Harpreet Singh (supra)”, the Bench said and took the notional income to be Rs.10,000 per month.

Thus, allowing the Appeal, the Bench granted Rs 34,56,110 as compensation along with interest and also excluded the 642-day delay period, in preferring the appeal.

Cause Title: Deepak Singh Alias Deepak Chauhan v. Mukesh Kumar & Ors. (Case No.: C.A. No. 2255/2025)

Appearance:

Appellant: AOR Bharat Bhushan, Advocate Keshav Bansal

Respondents: AOR Anand Sukumar, Advocate Kshitij Mittal

Click here to read/download Judgment





Justice Sanjay KarolJustice ManmohanMotor Accident Compensation

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.