NEW DELHI: Supreme Court rules that the social status of the unorganized sector worker should be taken into account while determining compensation if he dies in a road accident. The bench comprising Justices AS Bopanna and Prashant Kumar Mishra made the observation on a road accident compensation case from Gujarat.

Yakub Muhammad Singhi (35), a native of Godhra, Gujarat, who was a vehicle mechanic and jeep driver, died in a car accident on November 14, 2000. He earned Rs 5000 per month as a mechanic and Rs 3000 as a jeep driver. The Motor Claims Accident Claims Tribunal took this into account and awarded the family a compensation of Rs 11,87,000 with 7.5 per cent annual interest, but the Gujarat High Court reduced the compensation on appeal by the insurance company. The compensation was reduced to Rs 4,75,000 on the grounds that the family did not produce proof that he had worked as a mechanic. Following this Yakub's wife Kubra Bibi approached the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court quashed the judgment of the Gujarat High Court and reinstated the compensation granted by the Motor Claims Accident Claims Tribunal. The insurance company was also directed to transfer the amount within four weeks of receiving the judgment copy. Supreme Court pointed out that even in the absence of documents or evidence regarding the income of those employed in the unorganized sector, the demand for compensation cannot be rejected.