Future career prospects matter: Supreme Court's key judgment on accident compensation

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has ruled that while fixing compensation for road accident victims, courts must consider not only the person’s educational qualification but also the nature of the job they were likely to secure in the future.

The case concerned a 20-year-old B.Com final-year student enrolled with the Institute of Chartered Accountants, who was severely injured in a Delhi road accident and later died. Both the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal and the Delhi High Court had calculated compensation based on the minimum wages of an unskilled worker, stating that since the victim had not yet qualified as a chartered accountant, such income could not be considered.

The Supreme Court disagreed, observing that given his educational background and enrollment, he would have certainly become an accountant after graduation, and compensation should be calculated on that basis.

A bench comprising Justices K Vinod Chandran and NV Anjaria enhanced the compensation to ₹40.34 lakh. In addition, the court directed the insurance company to pay an extra ₹20 lakh to the victim’s parents.