Motor Accident | Failure To Produce Evidence Of Deceased's Income Does Not Justify Adoption Of Lowest Tier Of Minimum Wage: Himachal Pradesh HC

Observation came from Justice Jyotsna Rewal Dua while deciding the appeal preferred by an Insurance company against award of Rs. 15,85,000/- compensation to the bereaved mother by the Claims Tribunal.

The Tribunal had assessed deceased's monthly income as 10,000/- whereas the Appellant argued that in absence of any documentary evidence to show the deceased's income, award must be calculated as per minimum wage rate, i.e., Rs. 7,000- per month.

The deceased's mother informed the Court that her son was earning Rs. 10,000/- per month only from agricultural pursuits. Further, she submitted that he had completed two year NCVT course in Mechanic (Motor Vehicle) Trade and would have definitely earned much more than Rs. 10,000/- per month, had he lived.

In this backdrop, the Court noted that where the deceased had an NCVT CTS course diploma in Mechanic (Motor Vehicle) Trade from a Government Industrial Training Institute and was also carrying out agricultural works, Rs. 10,000/- per month has been correctly assessed as his income which he would have earned on attaining the age of 25 years.

reliance was placed on Chandra alias Chanda alias Chandra Ram & Anr. vs. Mukesh Kumar Yadav & Ors., where it was held that in absence of salary certificate the minimum wage notification can be a yardstick but at the same time cannot be an absolute one to fix the income of the deceased. In absence of documentary evidence on record some amount of guesswork is required to be done. But at the same time the guesswork for assessing the income of the deceased should not be totally detached from reality.

Accordingly, petition was dismissed.

Case Title: UNITED INDIA INSURANCE COMPLANY LTD v. SMT. SUMNA DEVI

Citation: 2022 LiveLaw (HP) 24 

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