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Dr D Y CHANDRACHUD, J 1 The appellant was injured in a motor accident. The Tribunal awarded compensation of Rs. 12,81,228/- for the injuries suffered by him. The High Court enhanced the award of compensation by an amount of Rs.2,19,000/-. Interest of 7.5 per cent per annum has been awarded from the date of the filing of the claim. The appellant seeks an enhancement of compensation.

2 The appellant was 24 years of age when the accident took place on 24 November 2011. The accident occurred at 4pm when the appellant and another person were riding on a motor cycle. The appellant who was riding the motor cycle at a moderate speed indicated to a dumper which was ahead of him to allow him to pass. When the appellant was passing the vehicle, it swerved on the driver’s side and hit the motor cycle of the appellant. The appellant was injured in the course of the accident.

(i) Pain, suffering and trauma resulting from the accident;

(ii) Loss of income including future income;

(iii) The inability of the victim to lead a normal life together with its amenities;

(iv) Medical expenses including those that the victim may be required to undertake in future; and

(v) Loss of expectation of life.

In Sri Laxman @ Laxman Mourya v Divisional Manager, Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd2, this Court held:

“The ratio of the above noted judgments is that if the victim of an accident suffers permanent or temporary disability, then efforts should always be made to award adequate compensation not only 2011 (12) SCALE 658 for the physical injury and treatment, but also for the pain, suffering and trauma caused due to accident, loss of earnings and victim’s inability to lead a normal life and enjoy amenities, which he would have enjoyed but for the disability caused due to the accident.” In K Suresh v New India Assurance Company Ltd3, this Court adverted to the earlier judgments in Ramesh Chandra v Randhir Singh4 and B Kothandapani v Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation Limited5. The Court held that compensation can be granted for disability as well as for loss of future earnings for the first head relates to the impairment of a person’s capacity while the other relates to the sphere of pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life by the person himself. In Govind Yadav v New India Insurance Company Limited6, this Court adverted to the earlier decisions in R D Hattangadi v Pest Control (India) (Pvt) Ltd.7 , Nizam’s Institute of Medical Sciences v Prasanth S Dhananka8, Reshma Kumari v Madam Mohan9, Arvind Kumar Mishra v New India Assurance Company Limited10, and Raj Kumar v Ajay Kumar11 and held thus:

“18. In our view, the principles laid down in Arvind Kumar Mishra v. New India Assurance Co. Ltd. and Raj Kumar v. Ajay Kumar must be followed by all the Tribunals and the High Courts in determining the quantum of compensation payable to the victims of accident, who are disabled either permanently or temporarily. If the victim of the accident suffers permanent disability, then efforts should always be made to award adequate compensation not only for the physical injury and treatment, but also for the loss of earning and his inability to lead a normal life and enjoy amenities, which he would have enjoyed but for the disability caused due to the accident.” (Id at page 693) (2012)12SCC274 (1990) 3 SCC 723 (2011) 6 SCC 420 (2011) 10 SCC 683 (1995) 1 SCC 551 (2009) 6 SCC 1 (2009) 13 SCC 422 (2010) 10 SCC 254 (2011) 1 SCC 343 These principles were reiterated in a judgment of this Court in Subulaxmi v MD Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation12 delivered by one of us, Justice Dipak Misra (as the learned Chief Justice then was).

9 Having regard to these principles, it would be now appropriate to assess the case of the appellant for enhancement of compensation. The accident took place on 24 November 2011. The appellant was a skilled carpenter and self-employed. The claim of the appellant that his earnings were Rs. 6,000/- per month cannot be discarded. This claim cannot be regarded as being unreasonable or contrary to a realistic assessment of the situation on the date of the accident. 10 In the judgment of the Constitution Bench in Pranay Sethi (supra), this Court has held that the benefit of future prospects should not be confined only to those who have a permanent job and would extend to self-employed individuals. In the case of a self-employed person, an addition of 40 per cent of the established income should be made where the age of the victim at the time of the accident was below 40 years. Hence, in the present case, the appellant would be entitled to an enhancement of Rs. 2400/- towards loss of future prospects.