Bengaluru: Karnataka high court has substantially enhanced the compensation payable to the elderly parents of a 30-year-old former Oracle employee who died in a bus accident in Goa, holding that the motor accident claims tribunal (MACT) had failed to properly assess his earning capacity.A division bench of Justice Jayant Banerji and Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju increased the compensation by Rs 47.9 lakh, taking the total award from Rs 22.2 lakh to just over Rs 70 lakh. The court also raised the interest on compensation from 6% to 9% per annum.The beneficiaries are R Shridharan and S Bhuvaneshwari, residents of Horamavu whose only son, Bhaskaran S, died in a road accident on April 9, 2019. According to court records, Bhaskaran was travelling from Goa to Bengaluru when the bus, allegedly driven rashly and negligently, crashed into a tree near Nayaband in Cuncolim Salcete on NH-17 in south Goa around 8.30pm. He suffered severe head injuries, was initially treated at a hospital in Margao, and later shifted to Goa Medical College, where he succumbed to his injuries.His parents approached MACT, stating that Bhaskaran had worked as a technical analyst at Oracle India Pvt Ltd before starting his own company, earning about Rs 1 lakh a month. They said he contributed his entire income towards supporting the family.In April 2022, however, the tribunal fixed his notional monthly income at Rs 15,000 and awarded Rs 22.2 lakh as compensation, including Rs 20.1 lakh towards loss of dependency. Challenging the award, the parents argued that the tribunal had overlooked documentary evidence relating to their son’s income and career.Allowing the appeal, the high court noted that Bhaskaran had maintained steady employment after graduation, received professional recognition and awards, and shown consistent growth in income, as reflected in his income tax returns. “The track record of the deceased reflects that he was a meritorious student who was working continuously from the time he graduated. The income tax returns also show a steady rise in his income,” the bench observed.Relying on his ITR for the assessment year 2018-19, the court held that after deducting tax of Rs 11,870, his annual income was Rs 5.7 lakh, or a monthly income of Rs 47,655. It also noted that he was repaying a monthly home loan EMI of Rs 10,500 for a house purchased for his parents and that, as their only unmarried son, they were entirely dependent on him.Holding that the parents had lost an only son who “undoubtedly had a bright future,” the court recalculated the loss of dependency at Rs 68 lakh, enhanced the compensation, and increased the interest rate to 9% per annum.
