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4. Before delving into the particulars of the computation, it is imperative to determine the customary heads under which compensation can be awarded. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in National Insurance Company Limited vs Pranay Sethi reported as (2017) 16 SCC 680 has ascertained the conventional heads and the standard compensation to be awarded under such heads. The following was held in judgment :-

5. From the perusal of the judgment of Pranay Sethi (Supra), it is emphatically clear that for the conventional heads, namely, 'Loss of Estate', Loss of Consortium' and 'Funeral Expenses' the amount of compensation is fixed at Rs. 15,000/-, Rs. 40,000/- and Rs. 15,000/-, respectively with an increase of 10% after a period of 3 years.

6. The learned Claims Tribunal in the present case has misconstrued 'Loss of Dependency‟ with 'Loss of Estate‟. From the dicta in Pranay Sethi (Supra), it is unequivocally clear that the 'Loss of Estate‟ cannot be calculated based on the income of the deceased. Hence, this Court is of the view that the compensation towards 'Loss of Estate‟ must be awarded in consonance with the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Pranay Sethi (Supra) as opposed to the calculation made by the learned Claims Tribunal.

23.This Court already held that all the Appellants are the dependents of the deceased. Hence this court is of the view that an amount equal to 1/4th her income can be deducted towards her personal expenses. The rationale being, through the expansive view on dependency taken in Birender (Supra) and Shalumol (Supra), the courts do not discredit the standards for the fraction of deductions arrived at in Pranay Sethi (Supra). In fact, the courts in the latter case (Shalumol (Supra)) have relied on the standard established in Pranay Sethi (Supra) while adopting a broad perspective on dependency.

26.The learned Claims Tribunal granted interest @ 7.5% per annum while exercising its discretion. This Court finds no error in exercising such a discretion and hence this court is not inclined to interfere with the rate of interest as granted by the learned Claims Tribunal.

27.Learned counsel for the Appellants has relied on United India Insurance Co. Ltd. vs Satinder Kaur, reported as (2021) 11 SCC 780, which affirmed the ruling on the conventional heads in Pranay Sethi (Supra) for an enhancement of the sum awarded under the said heads. In the light of the submissions made by the counsel for the Appellants and a perusal of Pranay Sethi (Supra), it can be ascertained that not only the quantum of compensation awarded by the learned Claims Tribunal ought to be enhanced/modified, but the heads under which such NEUTRAL CITATION NO: 2022/DHC/004590 compensations have been awarded also require modification. Apart from the conventional heads, no separate compensation can be awarded under the head 'loss of love and affection' as the same has to be construed under 'Loss of Consortium‟. The compensation for 'Loss of Consortium‟ that each of the Appellants is entitled to is Rs. 44,000/- after taking into account the enhancement in a span of three years.