[Motor Accident cases] Mother-in-law of deceased entitled to compensation as 'legal representative': Supreme Court

The Supreme Court on Monday ruled that the mother-in-law of a motor accident victim is eligible for compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (MV Act) as the legal representative of the deceased if she can establish that she was dependent on such victim [N Jayasree vs Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Ltd]..A Bench of Justices Abdul Nazeer and Krishna Murari also stated that the term 'legal representative' under the MV Act should be given a wide interpretation for the purpose of Chapter XII of Act and "it should not be confined only to mean the spouse, parents and children of the deceased"..The top court said that the MV Act is a benevolent legislation enacted for the object of providing monetary relief to the victims or their families.""Therefore, the MV Act calls for a liberal and wider interpretation to serve the real purpose underlying the enactment and fulfil its legislative intent," the Supreme Court held. .The case under consideration was of the accident of a 52-year-old professor resulting in his death.The Motor Accidents Claim Tribunal (MACT) awarded ₹75 lakh compensation to the mother-in-law for the same. However, the High Court on appeal noted that the mother-in-law was not a dependent as per the MV Act and could, therefore, not claim compensation. Taking other factors into consideration, the compensation was reduced to ₹25 lakh leading to the appeal before the Supreme Court..The Bench noted that the mother-in-law was dependent on the deceased for her shelter and maintenance and, therefore, proceeded to hold that she would be eligible for compensation. "It is not uncommon in Indian Society for the mother-in-law to live with her daughter and son-in-law during her old age and be dependent upon her son-in-law for her maintenance. Appellant no.4 herein may not be a legal heir of the deceased, but she certainly suffered on account of his death. Therefore, we have no hesitation to hold that she is a “legal representative” under Section 166 of the MV Act and is entitled to maintain a claim petition," the top court held. .Further, the Court also said that in order to maintain a claim petition, it is sufficient for the claimant to establish his or her loss of dependency. "Section 166 of the MV Act makes it clear that every legal representative who suffers on account of the death of a person in a motor vehicle accident should have a remedy for realization of compensation," the Bench ruled. .In the instant case, the deceased was an expert in Mathematics which meant that after retirement, he could have worked with coaching centres or other institutions. .Thus, the court held that at the time of calculation of the income, the court has to consider the actual income of the deceased and addition should be made to take into account future prospects. .The Court, therefore, allowed the appeal and directed the respondents to pay a sum of ₹85 lakh to the dependents as compensation for the death. .[Read Judgment]