Pain & Suffering Not Measurable: Rajasthan High Court Enhances MACT Award For Mental Agony Citing Prolonged Treatment, Permanent Disability
The Rajasthan High Court has enhanced the compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal to a claimant under the head of mental agony from Rs. 13,000 to Rs. 50,000 taking into account the duration for which the petitioner had to be hospitalized followed by his 6 months leave from work. The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand opined that pain and suffering qualified as...
The Rajasthan High Court has enhanced the compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal to a claimant under the head of mental agony from Rs. 13,000 to Rs. 50,000 taking into account the duration for which the petitioner had to be hospitalized followed by his 6 months leave from work.
The bench of Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand opined that pain and suffering qualified as non-pecuniary loss, as these were not capable of being arithmetically calculated. Hence, when the compensation had to be awarded under the head of pain and sufferings, special circumstances of the claimant had to be taken into account like his/her age, unusual deprivation, etc.
The Court was hearing an appeal against the order of the tribunal seeking enhancement of the compensation awarded under the head of mental agony.
It was the case of the appellant that owing to the injuries sustained due to the accident, he had to be hospitalized for over a month, following by a leave of around six months from work. Furthermore, owing to the injuries on his skull and hip bone, he had 13.1% permanent disability.
After hearing the contentions, and taking into account the facts put by the appellant, it was held that looking at his injuries, and the fact that he remained under treatment for a considerable time, the amount awarded under the head of fiscal pain and mental agony was inadequate.
The Court referred to the Supreme Court case of R.D. Hattangadi Vs. Pest Control (India) (P) Ltd. in which it was held that while awarding compensation under this head, special circumstances of the claimant had to be considered like his age, unusual deprivation, effect on his future life etc.
Further, the Court also made a reference to the case of Divisional Controller, KSRTC Vs. Mahadeva Shetty and Another in which it was observed,
“A person not only suffers injuries on account of accident but also suffers in mind and body on account of the accident throughout his life and a feeling is developed that he is no more a normal man and cannot enjoy the amenities of life as another normal person can. While fixing compensation for pain and suffering as also for loss of amenities of life, features like his age, marital status and unusual deprivation he has undertaken in his life have to be reckoned.”
In this background, the Court highlighted that since the appellant's age was 42 at the time of the accident, and his injuries resulted in 13.1% permanent disability, coupled with his long treatment and leaves from work, the amount of compensation was inadequate.
Accordingly, the compensation was enhanced to Rs. 50,000 under the concerned head.
Title: Dekaran Singh v Pyare Lal & Anr.
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 59