Mumbai: In a significant ruling, the Bombay High Court said if a married person dies in a motor accident, then his/her parents cannot seek compensation under filial consortium (affection and companionship loss).
This means that in case a married person dies in a motor accident, the compensation under the heads of affection and companionship will go to his/her spouse and children.
A bench of Justice Ramesh Dhanuka upheld but modified the orders of a Solapur Tribunal, which had ordered such a compensation to a milk vendor’s family, who died in a road accident in February 2012.
According to the family, the deceased had been to a nearby village to sell milk and was dashed by a vehicle, which was speeding from the other direction.
The tribunal had concluded that the person died because the offending vehicle was driving in a negligent and rash manner. The tribunal while ordering nearly Rs 25.50 lakh compensation had granted filial consortium loss to the man’s parents.
While disagreeing with the tribunal, Justice Dhanuka held, “In so far as the filial consortium claimed by the family is concerned, in my view, since the said deceased was not a bachelor at the time of his death, the parents would not be entitled to claim any filial consortium.”
“In the case where the parents have lost their minor child, or unmarried son or daughter, the parents are entitled to be awarded loss of consortium under the head of filial consortium.
Thus, claim towards filial consortium demanded by the parents of the deceased cannot be considered in this case,” Justice Dhanuka ruled.
The court accordingly modified that part of the Tribunal verdict, wherein it had fixed Rs 70,000 as the loss of love and affection for the children of the deceased milk vendor and Rs 2 lakh compensation under filial consortium for his parents.
