In Brief
A 23-year-old unmarried man died in a motor accident in 2009. His parents claimed compensation for loss of dependency. The Motor Accident Tribunal applied multiplier 15 based on the parents' age, but the High Court reduced it to 14, citing an earlier Supreme Court decision. The Supreme Court held that multipliers in motor accident cases must be applied based on the deceased's age, not the dependants' age, to ensure certainty and avoid disputes. The Court increased the multiplier from 14 to 18 (appropriate for a 23-year-old), proportionally increasing compensation from Rs. 5.29 lakh to Rs. 6.80 lakh, and raised the interest rate to 9% per annum.
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