RAJENDRA SINGH AND OTHERSversusNATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY LIMITED AND OTHERS

                        [2020] 6 S.C.R. 579                             579


               RAJENDRA SINGH AND OTHERS                                A
                                 v.
              NATIONAL INSURANCE COMPANY
                     LIMITED AND OTHERS
                  (Civil Appeal No. 2624 of 2020)                       B
                           JUNE 18, 2020
            [NAVIN SINHA AND B. R. GAVAI, JJ.]
       Motor Vehicles Accident – Enhancement of compensation –
Victims, a housewife and her minor daughter, were travelling in a       C
horse cart, which was hit by a bus resulting in their death – The
Tribunal awarded a total sum of Rs. 3,54,500/- for the housewife
and Rs. 1,60,000/- for the minor child – Appeal for enhancement of
compensation dismissed by the High Court – On appeal, held:
Deduction of 50% made by the Tribunal towards contributory
                                                                        D
negligence while calculating the award is totally unjustified and
unsustainable since no fault can be attributed to the deceased as
they were passengers, not the driver or the owner of the house cart
– Furthermore, if the housewife had survived, her contributions to
the welfare and care of the family would have only been enhanced
by time – Therefore, Appellants entitled to future prospects at the     E
rate of 40% in addition to the loss of consortium and future expenses
already granted – Thus, total compensation for housewife enhanced
to Rs. 11,96,000/- – Insofar as minor child is concerned, in the
entirety of the facts and circumstances of the case compensation
enhanced to Rs. 2,95,000/-
                                                                        F
      Disposing of the appeals, the Court
      HELD: 1. No evidence has been led by the appellant with
regard to any income of the first deceased from dairy business.
The deceased were travelling in a horse cart along with others to
a religious congregation. It is not the case of the respondents         G
that the first deceased was driving the horse cart or was the owner
of the same, much less that it was being driven under her
supervision. The deceased were travelling as passengers along
with others. The fact that the horse cart may have been in middle
of the road at the time of the accident, no fault can be attributed
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                                579
580            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                      [2020] 6 S.C.R.


A     to the deceased holding them liable to contributory negligence
      and denial of full compensation. This Court fails to understand
      how the deceased who were passengers in the horse cart can be
      held liable in any manner. The deduction of 50% towards
      contributory negligence in both the appeals is therefore held to
      be totally unjustified and unsustainable. The finding with regard
B
      to contributory negligence against both the deceased are
      therefore set aside. [Para 8][583-A-C]
             2. The notional income of the first deceased-housewife is
      therefore held to be Rs.5000/- per month at the time of death.
      The compensation on that basis with a deduction of 1/4th i.e.
C     Rs.15,000/- towards personal expenses with a multiplier of 17 is
      assessed at Rs.7,65,000/-. If the deceased had survived, in view
      of observations in Lata Wadhwa, her skills as a matured and
      skilled housewife in contributing to the welfare and care of the
      family and in the upbringing of the children would have only been
D     enhanced by time and for which reason we hold that the appellants
      shall be entitled to future prospects at the rate of 40% in addition
      to the loss of consortium and future expenses already granted.
      This Court therefore assesses the total compensation payable to
      the appellants in the first appeal at Rs.11,96,000/-. [Para 11]
      [584-F-H]
E
            3. The deduction on account of contributory negligence has
      already been held to be unsustainable. The determination of a
      just and proper compensation to the appellants with regard to
      the deceased child, in the entirety of the facts and circumstances
      of the case does not persuade this Court to enhance the same
F     any further from Rs.2,95,000/- by granting any further
      compensation under the separate head of “future prospects”.
      [Para 15][586-F-G]
            Arun Kumar Agrawal v. National Insurance Co. Ltd.
            (2010) 9 SCC 218 : [2010] 9 SCR 303; New India
G           Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Satender (2006) 13 SCC 60 :
            [2006] 8 Suppl. SCR 745 – relied on.
            Kajal v. Jagdish Chand & Ors. AIR 2020 SC 776 :
            (2020) 4 SCC 413 – distinguished.

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RAJENDRA SINGH AND OTHERS v. NATIONAL INSURANCE                             581
          COMPANY LIMITED AND OTHERS

      Lata Wadhwa v. State of Bihar (2001) 8 SCC 197 :                      A
      [2001] 1 Suppl. SCR 578; R.K. Malik v. Kiran Pal (2009)
      14 SCC 1 : [2009] 10 SCR 87 – referred to.
                        Case Law Reference
(2020) 4 SCC 413                     distinguished      Para 6
                                                                            B
[2001] 1 Suppl. SCR 578              referred to        Para 9
[2010] 9 SCR 303                     relied on          Para 10
[2009] 10 SCR 87                     referred to        Paras 12 & 13
[2006] 8 Suppl. SCR 745              relied on          Para 14
                                                                            C
      CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION: Civil Appeal No. 2624
of 2020.
      From the Judgment and Order dated 19.09.2017 of the High Court
of Uttarakhand at Nainital in A.F.O. No. 82 of 2015.
      With                                                                  D

      C.A. No. 2625 of 2020
      Yunus Malik, Anish Maheshwari, Aman Malik, Samir Malik, Sanjay
Kumar Dubey, Ms. Shuchi Singh, Krishna Kant Dubey, and Gautam
Das, Advs. for the appearing parties.                                       E
      The Judgment of the Court was delivered by
      NAVIN SINHA, J.
      1. Leave granted.
       2. The High Court by the impugned order dismissed two appeals        F
arising from separate orders of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal
(hereinafter referred to as ‘the Tribunal’) deciding two accident
compensation claims. The appellants had claimed further enhancement
of compensation.
       3. The deceased in the first appeal was a housewife aged about       G
30 years. The second deceased was her daughter aged about 12 years.
The claimants are the husband/father of the deceased and three minor
siblings. The two deceased on 25.12.2012 were travelling in a horse cart
along with some others to a religious congregation. The horse cart was
hit by a bus resulting in their death. The Tribunal assessed the notional
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582             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                            [2020] 6 S.C.R.


A     income of the first deceased at Rs.36,000/- per annum and after 1/4th
      deduction towards personal expenses, with a multiplier of 17 awarded a
      compensation of Rs.4,59,000/-. The Tribunal then deducted 50% on
      ground of contributory negligence as the horse cart was stated to have
      been in the middle of the road when the accident took place. A sum of
      Rs.1,00,000/- was then added as loss of consortium and Rs.25,000/-
B
      towards funeral expenses leading to an award total of Rs.3,54,500/-
      with interest at the rate of 7.5%.
            4. In so far as the minor child is concerned, the notional income
      was assessed at Rs.36,000/- per annum, applying a 50% deduction
      towards personal expenses with a multiplier of 15, the compensation
C     was awarded at Rs.2,70,000/- out of which 50% was again deducted
      towards contributory negligence. A sum of Rs.25,000/- was added
      towards funeral expenses, leading to an award total of Rs.1,60,000/-
      with interest at the rate of 7.5%.
            5. The appeal for enhancement of compensation was dismissed
D     by the High Court and thus the present appeals.
             6. Learned counsel for the appellant submits that the notional
      income of the first deceased has been wrongly fixed ignoring her income
      of Rs.5000/- per month from dairy farm business. Nothing has been
      awarded towards future prospects. With regard to the second deceased
E     it was submitted that she was studying in a school and her notional income
      should have been assessed at Rs.54,000/- per year. Nothing has been
      awarded towards loss of estate, loss of consortium and funeral expenses.
      The common submission in both the appeals was that deduction on ground
      of contributory negligence was unsustainable and unjustified. Reliance
F     was placed on Kajal vs. Jagdish Chand & Ors., AIR 2020 SC 776, to
      contend that the income of the deceased child should have been assessed
      at Rs.4846/- per month.
             7. Learned counsel for the respondents submitted that the present
      appeals do not merit interference. There is no evidence with regard to
G     the claimed business income of the first deceased. The finding of
      contributory negligence merits no interference. In absence of any proof
      of income, the question of future prospects simply does not arise. Similarly,
      the second deceased was a minor school going child who also had no
      income and therefore the question for grant of future prospects with
      regard to her also does not arise.
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RAJENDRA SINGH AND OTHERS v. NATIONAL INSURANCE                                583
  COMPANY LIMITED AND OTHERS [NAVIN SINHA, J.]

       8. We have considered the submission on behalf of the parties.          A
No evidence has been led by the appellant with regard to any income of
the first deceased from dairy business. The deceased were travelling in
a horse cart along with others to a religious congregation. It is not the
case of the respondents that the first deceased was driving the horse
cart or was the owner of the same, much less that it was being driven
                                                                               B
under her supervision. The deceased were travelling as passengers along
with others. The fact that the horse cart may have been in middle of the
road at the time of the accident, no fault can be attributed to the deceased
holding them liable to contributory negligence and denial of full
compensation. We fail to understand how the deceased who were
passengers in the horse cart can be held liable in any manner. The             C
deduction of 50% towards contributory negligence in both the appeals is
therefore held to be totally unjustified and unsustainable. The finding
with regard to contributory negligence against both the deceased are
therefore set aside.
      9. The first deceased was a housewife aged about 30 years. In            D
Lata Wadhwa vs. State of Bihar, (2001) 8 SCC 197, this court had
observed that considering the multifarious services rendered by
housewives, even on a modest estimation, the income of a housewife
between the age group of 34 to 59 years who were active in life should
be assessed at Rs 36,000 per annum. A distinction was also drawn with
regard to elderly ladies in the age group of 62 to 72 who would be more        E
adept in discharge of housewife duties by age and experience, and the
value of services rendered by them has been taken at Rs 20,000 per
annum.
      10. In Arun Kumar Agrawal vs. National Insurance Co. Ltd.,
(2010) 9 SCC 218, the Tribunal assessed the notional income of the             F
housewife at Rs.5,000/- per month, but without any rational or reasoning
concluded that she was a non-earning member and reduced the same to
Rs.2,500/-, which was affirmed by the High Court. Disapproving the
same and restoring the assessed income, this Court observed at
Paragraphs 26 and 27 as follows:                                               G
      “26. In India the courts have recognised that the contribution made
      by the wife to the house is invaluable and cannot be computed in
      terms of money. The gratuitous services rendered by the wife
      with true love and affection to the children and her husband and
      managing the household affairs cannot be equated with the                H
584             SUPREME COURT REPORTS                            [2020] 6 S.C.R.


A            services rendered by others. A wife/mother does not work by the
             clock. She is in the constant attendance of the family throughout
             the day and night unless she is employed and is required to attend
             the employer’s work for particular hours. She takes care of all
             the requirements of the husband and children including cooking of
             food, washing of clothes, etc. She teaches small children and
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             provides invaluable guidance to them for their future life. A
             housekeeper or maidservant can do the household work, such as
             cooking food, washing clothes and utensils, keeping the house
             clean, etc., but she can never be a substitute for a wife/mother
             who renders selfless service to her husband and children.
C            27. It is not possible to quantify any amount in lieu of the services
             rendered by the wife/mother to the family i.e. the husband and
             children. However, for the purpose of award of compensation to
             the dependants, some pecuniary estimate has to be made of the
             services of the housewife/mother. In that context, the term
D            “services” is required to be given a broad meaning and must be
             construed by taking into account the loss of personal care and
             attention given by the deceased to her children as a mother and to
             her husband as a wife. They are entitled to adequate compensation
             in lieu of the loss of gratuitous services rendered by the deceased.
             The amount payable to the dependants cannot be diminished on
E            the ground that some close relation like a grandmother may
             volunteer to render some of the services to the family which the
             deceased was giving earlier.”
             11. The notional income of the first deceased is therefore held to
      be Rs.5000/- per month at the time of death. The compensation on that
F     basis with a deduction of 1/4th i.e. Rs.15,000/- towards personal expenses
      with a multiplier of 17 is assessed at Rs.7,65,000/-. If the deceased had
      survived, in view of observations in Lata Wadhwa (supra), her skills as
      a matured and skilled housewife in contributing to the welfare and care
      of the family and in the upbringing of the children would have only been
G     enhanced by time and for which reason we hold that the appellants shall
      be entitled to future prospects at the rate of 40% in addition to the loss of
      consortium and future expenses already granted. We therefore assess
      the total compensation payable to the appellants in the first appeal at
      Rs.11,96,000/-.

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RAJENDRA SINGH AND OTHERS v. NATIONAL INSURANCE                                   585
  COMPANY LIMITED AND OTHERS [NAVIN SINHA, J.]

         12. The second deceased was a school going child aged about 12           A
years. She had a whole future to look forward in life with all normal
human aspirations. She died prematurely due to the accident at a very
tender age for no fault of hers even before she could start to understand
the beauty and joys of life with all its ups and downs. The loss of a
human life untimely at childhood can never be measured in terms of loss
                                                                                  B
of earning or monetary loss alone. The emotional attachments involved
to the loss of the child can have a devastating effect on the family which
needs to be visualised and understood. Grant of non-pecuniary damages
for the wrong done by awarding compensation for loss of expectation in
life is therefore called for. Undoubtedly the injury inflicted by deprivation
of the life of the child is very difficult to quantify. The future also abounds   C
with uncertainties. Therefore, the courts have used the expression “just
compensation” to get over the difficulties in quantifying the figure to
ensure consistency and uniformity in awarding compensation. This
determination shall not depend upon financial position of the victim or
the claimant but rather on the capacity and ability of the deceased to
                                                                                  D
provide happiness in life to the claimants had she remained alive. The
compensation is for loss of prospective happiness which the claimant
would have enjoyed had the child not died at the tender age. Since the
child was studying in a school and opportunities in life would undoubtedly
abound for her as the years would have rolled by, compensation must
also be granted with regard to future prospects. It can safely be presumed        E
that education would have only led to her better growth and maturity
with better prospects and a bright future for which compensation needs
to be granted under non-pecuniary damages. (See R.K. Malik vs. Kiran
Pal, (2009) 14 SCC 1).
       13. The income of the minor girl child is incapable of precise             F
fixation. We find no reason to interfere with the assessed notional income
of the second deceased. In R.K. Malik vs. Kiran Pal, (2009) 14 SCC
1, considering grant of future prospects for the deceased child aged
about 10 years it was observed as follows:
       “32. A forceful submission has been made by the learned counsel            G
       appearing for the appellant claimants that both the Tribunal as
       well as the High Court failed to consider the claims of the
       appellants with regard to the future prospects of the children. It
       has been submitted that the evidence with regard to the same has
       been ignored by the courts below.
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586            SUPREME COURT REPORTS                           [2020] 6 S.C.R.


A           33. On perusal of the evidence on record, we find merit in such
            submission that the courts below have overlooked that aspect of
            the matter while granting compensation. It is well-settled legal
            principle that in addition to awarding compensation for pecuniary
            losses, compensation must also be granted with regard to the future
            prospects of the children. It is incumbent upon the courts to
B
            consider the said aspect while awarding compensation…”
             14. In New India Assurance Co. Ltd. vs. Satender, (2006) 13
      SCC 60, the deceased victim of the accident was a nine year old school
      going child. Considering the claim for loss of future prospects in absence
      of a regular income, it was observed that the compensation so determined
C     had to be just and proper by a judicious approach and not fixed arbitrarily
      or whimsically. The uncertainties of a young life were noticed in the
      following terms:-
            “12. In cases of young children of tender age, in view of
            uncertainties abound, neither their income at the time of death nor
D           the prospects of the future increase in their income nor chances
            of advancement of their career are capable of proper
            determination on estimated basis. The reason is that at such an
            early age, the uncertainties in regard to their academic pursuits,
            achievements in career and thereafter advancement in life are so
E           many that nothing can be assumed with reasonable certainty.
            Therefore, neither the income of the deceased child is capable of
            assessment on estimated basis nor the financial loss suffered by
            the parents is capable of mathematical computation.”
             15. The deduction on account of contributory negligence has
F     already been held by us to be unsustainable. The determination of a just
      and proper compensation to the appellants with regard to the deceased
      child, in the entirety of the facts and circumstances of the case does not
      persuade us to enhance the same any further from Rs.2,95,000/- by
      granting any further compensation under the separate head of “future
      prospects”. It may only be noticed that R.K. Malik (supra) does not
G     consider Satender (supra) on the grant of future prospects as far as
      children are concerned.
             16. Kajal (supra) is distinguishable on its own facts. The victim
      of the accident was a nine month old child, whose disability certificate
      reflected that she would grow up to be an adult lying on the bed with all
H     the physical and biological attributes of a woman on attaining adulthood,
RAJENDRA SINGH AND OTHERS v. NATIONAL INSURANCE                                  587
  COMPANY LIMITED AND OTHERS [NAVIN SINHA, J.]

but her mind would remain of a nine month old child because of the               A
accident. The case is completely distinguishable on its own facts and did
not arise out of a death claim, leading to award of compensation towards
expenses for frequent treatment, hospitalization, transportation, loss of
future earnings, attendant charges, pain, suffering, loss of amenities, loss
of marriage prospects and future medical treatment etc.
                                                                                 B
       17. The Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (C) No. 13964 of 2018 is
allowed and the Civil Appeal arising out of SLP (C) No. 16261 of 2018
is allowed to the extent indicated only.


Ankit Gyan                                                Appeals disposed of.   C




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