Case:- HITESH NAGJIBHAI PATEL vs BABABHAI NAGJIBHAI RABARI & ANR.
Citation:- 2025 INSC 1070
Supreme Court Bench:- Justice Sanjay Karol and Justice Prashant Kumar Mishra
The Hon’ble Supreme Court recently increased the compensation awarded to a minor, who sustained permanent disability in a road accident, from ₹8.65 lakh to ₹35.90 lakhs, holding that a minor cannot be classified as a non-earning individual for determining income. Instead, the Court ruled that the minor’s income should be treated as equivalent to the minimum wage for a skilled worker notified in the State where the cause of action arose.
Important Points:
- In this case, the Hon’ble Court took the 2012 Gujarat minimum wage of ₹227.85 per day, fixing the monthly income at ₹6,836, added 40% for future prospects, applied a multiplier of 18, and factored in the 90% disability.
- The Hon’ble Court also awarded additional compensation: ₹5 lakh for pain and suffering, ₹3 lakh for loss of marriage prospects, and ₹5 lakh for an artificial limb.
- It directed insurance companies to provide the schedule of minimum wages in cases where the victim’s income is not properly established, placing the burden on them instead of the victim.
- The judgment overturned the Hon’ble Gujarat High Court’s decision, which had wrongly treated the child as non-earning while calculating compensation.
- The Hon’ble Court cited its earlier ruling in Baby Sakshi Greola v. Manzoor Ahmad Simon (2024), where a similar principle was applied in awarding compensation to a minor accident victim.
