New Delhi: The Supreme Court has held that the multiplier for calculating compensation in motor accident claim cases must be determined solely by the age of the deceased and not the age of the dependants, reaffirming a s…

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has held that the multiplier for calculating compensation in motor accident claim cases must be determined solely by the age of the deceased and not the age of the dependants, reaffirming a settled legal principle aimed at ensuring uniform application across the country.A bench of Justices S V N Bhatti and N V Anjaria said the position is no longer open to debate. It pointed to the standardised multiplier matrix laid down in Sarla Verma v. Delhi Transport Corporation (2009), later affirmed by a five-judge bench in the Pranay Sethi case (2017). The court also recalled its earlier ruling in Munna Lal Jain (2015), which specifically clarified that even in cases involving bachelors, the multiplier is fixed with reference to the deceased’s age rather than that of the dependants.Supreme Court upholds NCTE’s annual performance appraisal report mandate for teacher training institutesThe appeals arose from a 2011 accident in which Sushant Prabhakaran, 33, a manager at Ericsson India Private Limited in Gurugram, was killed when the motorcycle he was riding was hit by a goods vehicle. Priyanka Das, the pillion rider who claimed to be his widow, suffered grievous injuries.The Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal, Gurgaon, had awarded Rs 82,56,152. It declined to recognise Priyanka Das as the legally wedded wife for lack of documentary evidence of marriage and apportioned the compensation accordingly. The Punjab and Haryana High Court in 2019 made a minor upward revision in her share, raising it from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 7.5 lakh.The insurer challenged the quantum, arguing that the multiplier should have been linked to the age of the deceased’s parents. Priyanka Das contested the refusal to treat her as the widow. In its judgment on September 03, 2026, the Supreme Court upheld the application of a multiplier of 16 based on the deceased’s age of 33 and declined to reappreciate the evidence on the marriage claim. It observed that in such matters courts seek just and fair compensation rather than mathematical precision, ensuring that what is due is not denied and what is undeserving is not awarded.In Priyanka Das’s separate claim for her own injuries, the court awarded her Rs 3,77,84,297. A multi-disciplinary medical board at Vardhman Mahavir Medical College and Safdarjung Hospital, constituted on the court’s directions, assessed her as suffering from 100 per cent permanent physical impairment affecting the whole body. The bench held that functional disability must be evaluated on the basis of the victim’s capacity to earn in the open competitive market. Where injuries cause total permanent impairment and extinguish the ability to sustain employment, compensation must reflect 100 per cent functional disability. At the time of the accident she was 35 and working as a deputy group manager with a monthly income of Rs 84,057.

Source: Deccan Herald