The Karnataka High Court has increased the road accident compensation awarded to an elderly Bengaluru couple from Rs 22 lakh to over Rs 70 lakh, ruling that their deceased son had a highly successful professional track record and a steadily rising income.
A division bench comprising Justice Jayant Banerji and Justice Tara Vitasta Ganju partly allowed an appeal filed by 71-year-old S Sridharan and 68-year-old S Bhuvaneswari. The couple had challenged a 2022 order by the Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal, seeking an enhancement of the original compensation.
The High Court bench ordered a total compensation of Rs 70,06,990 and increased the interest rate from 6 percent to 9 percent per annum, payable from the date the petition was filed.
The case concerns the death of their 30-year-old son, Bhaskaran S, a software engineer who died in a road accident on April 9, 2019, while traveling by bus from Goa to Bangalore.
Court Overrules Tribunal on Income Assessment
The High Court rejected the Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal’s earlier decision to base the compensation on a “notional income” of the deceased. The Tribunal had previously awarded Rs 22,17,550 with 6 percent interest, pointing to a lack of income tax returns on the record for the period before his death.
However, the High Court noted that the parents had indeed produced the last three years of their son’s income tax returns, which clearly demonstrated a consistent upward trajectory in his earnings. The bench observed that the deceased was a meritorious student who had worked continuously since graduating in 2010, earning professional recognition and a rising salary.
According to court records, the parents were left with significant financial liabilities, including a home loan and other daily expenses, following the loss of their son, who had been the sole provider for their welfare.
A Promising Career Cut Short
Evidence presented in court outlined Bhaskaran’s career progression. After graduating in 2010, he worked for Dell until 2012, followed by a tenure at CSS in Chennai from 2012 to 2015. During his time at CSS, he received an award and was sent to work in the United States. He subsequently joined Oracle India Private Ltd as a technical analyst, earning a monthly salary of Rs 61,079.
Bhaskaran resigned from Oracle on January 2, 2018, to start his own logistics business, which generated an income of Rs 1 lakh per month. The court also noted his aspirations to eventually settle in Canada.
His financial commitment to his family was evidenced by bank records showing he was paying a monthly installment of Rs 10,500 on a housing loan for a property purchased for his parents. Furthermore, just three months prior to his death, on January 3, 2019, he had deposited Rs 7 lakh into a joint fixed deposit account with his mother.
