In Brief
Santosh died in a motorcycle accident caused by negligent driving of a state transport bus. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal awarded Rs. 8,51,000 to his dependents. The Supreme Court upheld the Tribunal's loss of dependency calculation (Rs. 7,20,000) but enhanced the total award by an additional Rs. 6,00,000. The enhancement incorporated separate awards for loss of estate (Rs. 15,000), loss of consortium (Rs. 40,000), and funeral expenses (Rs. 15,000), plus 40% future prospects as per recent precedent. The Court applied the principles from National Insurance Co. Limited v. Pranay Sethi in quantifying compassionate relief alongside pecuniary loss.
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