[Cites 1, Cited by 0]
Rajasthan High Court - Jodhpur
Saroj vs Narendra Singh (2026:Rj-Jd:11548) on 10 March, 2026
[2026:RJ-JD:11548]
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT
JODHPUR
S.B. Civil Misc. Appeal No. 1170/2020
Saroj W/o Shri Jaswant Lal, Aged About 46 Years, B/c Panchal ,
R/o Infront Of Sanchawat Vatika , Sagwara , Distt. Dungarpur
----Appellant
Versus
1. Narendra Singh S/o Mohan Singh, R/o Nimbiya , Tehsil
Mandal , Distt. Bhilwara (Driver Of Vehicle)
2. Shree Janta Ice-Cream Pvt Ltd., 1/13 Kalal , Gidc Office ,
Gandhi Nagar (Gujarat) Through Rajesh Kumar
Ramswaroop Asawa (Owner Of Vehicle)
3. Shree Janta Ice- Cream Pvt Ltd., 1/13 Kalal , Gidc Office ,
Gandhi Nagar (Gujarat) Through Ramesh Kumar
Ramswaroop Asawa R/o 10-A Chandrapark Society ,
Narainpura , Ahmedabad (Gujrat) (Owner Of Vehicle)
4. Shree Janta Ice - Cream Pvt. Ltd, Through Harish Son Of
Ramswaroop Asawa R/o 10-A , Chandrapark Society ,
Narainpura , Ahmedabad (Gujrat) (Owner Of Vehicle)
5. Ifco Toyko General Insurance Company Limited, Through
Its Branch Manager , Branch Office At Nearby Hotel Kajari
, Shastri Circle , Udaipur , Distt. Udaipur (Insurer Of
Vehicle)
----Respondents
For Appellant(s) : Mr. Surendra Singh Shaktawat
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Jagdish Chandra Vyas
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MUKESH RAJPUROHIT
Order
10/03/2026
The present appeal is directed against the judgment and
award dated 30.07.2019 passed by the learned Judge, Motor
Accident Claims Tribunal (Additional District & Sessions Judge),
Sagwara, District Dungarpur, in MACT Case No. 21/2017, whereby
the learned Tribunal awarded total compensation of Rs. 9,86,764/-
along with interest at the rate of 7% per annum from the date of
filing of the claim petition till the date of actual payment.
The brief facts giving rise to the present appeal are that the
deceased Maneesh, aged 26 years, died in a road accident on
08.12.2016 at night between 9-10 p.m., near Nandod Bus Stand,
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when the vehicle bearing No. JJ 18 AV 4623, being driven by
Respondent No. 1, recklessly and negligently struck the
motorcycle on which the deceased was a pillion rider, resulting in
his death. The claim petition was filed by the appellant-mother
and the father of the deceased. The learned Tribunal adjudicated
the claim petition and passed the impugned award.
Learned counsel for the appellant urges the following
grounds in support of the present appeal:
(i) That the learned Tribunal has assessed the
income of the deceased at Rs. 6,630/- per month,
which assessment is erroneous and not in consonance
with the evidence on record. It is submitted that the
income of the deceased ought to have been assessed
at a higher figure and that the failure of the learned
Tribunal to correctly assess the same has resulted in a
proportionate underassessment of the total
compensation.
(ii) That the learned Tribunal committed a manifest
error in omitting to award compensation under the
head of loss of filial consortium to either parent of the
deceased, neither to the appellant-mother nor to the
father of the deceased. It is submitted that both
parents were entitled to compensation under this
head as a matter of right, and the omission thereof
renders the impugned award legally unsustainable to
that extent.
Per contra, learned counsel for the respondent-Insurance
Company has supported the impugned award and contended that
the compensation awarded by the learned Tribunal is just and
reasonable and that no interference is called for.
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Heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the
impugned judgment and award along with the record.
So far as Ground No. (i) is concerned, the challenge to the
assessment of income of the deceased, this Court finds no
perversity or legal infirmity in the said assessment, warranting
interference. The income has been assessed on a reasonable basis
and in accordance with the material available on record.
Accordingly, Ground No. (i) is not accepted, and the assessment of
income as made by the learned Tribunal is upheld.
Insofar as Ground No. (ii) is concerned, the omission to
award loss of filial consortium to the parents of the deceased; this
Court is of the considered view that the omission of the learned
Tribunal is erroneous and contrary to the settled legal position.
This ground is accepted for the reasons that follow.
Loss of filial consortium is a recognized and distinct head of
compensation under motor accident law. It compensates parents
for the loss of the care, companionship, and guidance of their
child. This loss is personal and does not depend on financial
dependency or the pecuniary status of the claimants. The right to
claim compensation under this head arises from the relationship of
parenthood and the loss caused by the child's death.
The Hon'ble Supreme Court in Magma General Insurance
Co. v. Nanu Ram, (2018) 18 SCC 130, has expressly held that
parents of a deceased are entitled to loss of filial consortium as a
matter of right. The entitlement to filial consortium does not
depend upon whether the parent was financially dependent on the
deceased, nor is it contingent upon the income or earning capacity
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of the claimant. It is a non-pecuniary head that recognizes a
human loss, and no financial inquiry is warranted while
adjudicating entitlement to this head of compensation.
In the present case, both the appellant-mother and the
father of the deceased were claimants on record before the
learned Tribunal. Both were entitled to compensation under the
head of loss of filial consortium. The learned Tribunal, however,
omitted to award this amount to either of them, which omission is
unsustainable in law and liable to be corrected in the present
appeal.
Insofar as the father is concerned, it is pertinent to note that
he passed away on 06.07.2017 during the pendency of the claim
petition. The right to claim compensation under the head of loss of
filial consortium had accrued to the father on the date of the
accident itself, the date on which the cause of action arose. The
subsequent death of the father during the pendency of the
proceedings does not extinguish a right that had already vested in
him.
Having regard to the foregoing, this Court determines that a
sum of Rs. 40,000 each shall be awarded to the parents of
deceased towards parental consortium.
Accordingly, the respondent No.5 - Insurance Company is
directed to deposit the aforesaid enhanced amount of
Rs. 80,000/- (Rupees Eighty Thousand only) before the
learned Tribunal within a period of two months from the date of
this order. The enhanced amount shall carry interest at the rate of
8% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition. The
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amount awarded towards loss of filial consortium of the father
shall be disbursed to the appellant wife as his legal heir. The
remaining award passed by the learned Tribunal shall remain
unaffected.
The appeal stands partly allowed to the aforesaid extent. The
impugned judgment and award dated 30.07.2019 stands modified
accordingly.
All pending applications, if any, stand disposed of. No order
as to costs.
(MUKESH RAJPUROHIT),J
44-mSingh/-
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