The Jharkhand High Court has rectified an error in the calculation of compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), Bokaro by assessing the income of the deceased, a mason, as that of a semi-skilled laborer, contrary to the classification in Jharkhand Minimum Wage Notification.

Justice Subhash Chand, preside over the case, observed, “The learned Court held that the deceased was a mason; but the income of the deceased was assessed as that of a semi-skilled worker in view of the Jharkhand Minimum Wage Notification with effect from October 1, 2019, Minimum Wage Act, 1948. Govt. of Jharkhand vide Notification No. 2/MW-2071/2010 L&T-1836 released variable dearness allowance from minimum wage with effect from 1st October, 2019 as the accident occurred on 27.12.2019. The total minimum wage of semi-skilled workers during the year 2019 was fixed by the Government of Jharkhand Rs. 7008.14/- per month and in round figure the income was estimated at 7000/- per month.

“In the same gazette notification, mason is shown in the category of skilled workman and the minimum wage of a skilled workman in the same gazette notification, the monthly minimum wage is shown 9238/-. As such, the income of the deceased which was assessed at 7,000/- by the learned court considering the mason as semi-skilled is erroneous and needs to be amended as the mason is a skilled workman,” » added Justice Chand.

According to the factual matrix of the case, a fatal car accident took place in 2019 in which the deceased, aged 35, died after being hit by a truck driven in a negligent and reckless manner. The deceased is survived by his wife, children and parents, who have filed a petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, seeking ₹30,00,500 as compensation. The deceased, a mason, notably earned ₹15,000 per month.

The Court however ruled that the deceased was a mason; but his income was assessed as that of a semi-skilled worker in view of the Jharkhand Minimum Wage Notification with effect from October 1, 2019, Minimum Wage Act, 1948.

The Tribunal, therefore, passed the impugned award directing payment of Rs. 14,81,200/- as compensation to the plaintiffs.

The petitioners, aggrieved by the award on the amount of compensation, filed a miscellaneous petition in the Jharkhand High Court, contending that a mason is classified as a skilled workman under the said notification, with a minimum monthly salary of ₹9,238. They argued that the classification of the deceased as a semi-skilled worker by the Tribunal was erroneous and sought enhanced compensation. They further contended that the parents of the deceased had not received the amount on account of loss of consortium.

The High Court also addressed the issue of parental and subsidiary consortium in its judgment. Referring to the judgment of the Supreme Court in the case National Insurance Co. Ltd. c. Pranay Sethi (2017), the High Court held that the parents of the deceased were entitled to ₹40,000 under this head.

Further, the Court applied the statutory 10% increase for conventional pay heads every three years, imposing an additional ₹44,000 on the parental and subsidiary consortium, taking into account a 10% increase due every three years. years.

The appeal was partly allowed, with the compensation being amended to ₹18,62,400 for annual loss of dependency and ₹44,000 for the conventional head of the parental consortium. The rest of the Tribunal’s award remained unchanged.

Case title: Shakuntala Devi and Ors v. M/S National Insurance Co. Ltd. and Anr

Citation LL: 2024 LiveLaw (Jha) 174

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