Accident claims: SC to lay down guidelines on ‘future prospect’

New Delhi, October 10

The Supreme Court today said it would lay down guidelines on considering the principle of “future prospect” of a person killed in a road accident while computing the compensation to be paid to the dependents.

A five-judge Constitution Bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra said it would mull whether “some standard threshold” amount can be fixed under the head of “future prospect” while awarding compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act.

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The Bench reserved the verdict on a batch of 27 petitions, including one filed by the National Insurance Company Ltd, against an order of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which in 2013 applied the principle of future prospect while granting Rs 10.82 lakh to the family of a 30-year-old man who was running his own company and had died in an accident.

The Bench said keeping in mind the changes like rise in the average life expectancy and career prospects, there was a need to lay down principles on consideration of future prospect of victims, who are either self-employed or in the private sector.

The MV Act provides for compensation by insurance firms to the victim or family by using the methodology provided in the statute itself. — PTI