MV Act | Apportionment Of Compensation Not Guided by Personal Laws, Consideration Of Dependency On Deceased Paramount: J&K High Court

The Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh High Court on Monday ruled that the Court cannot be guided by personal law while deciding on the compensation in a claim petition since it needed to be apportioned by taking into consideration the dependency of the Claimants. Overturning the decision of the Tribunal to deny compensation to two siblings of the deceased, the court held that legal heirs, whether married and earning, could claim compensation for the death of the deceased and that the Tribunal was duty bound to consider their claim, irrespective of their dependency on the deceased. “Court cannot be guided by personal law while deciding upon the apportionment of the compensation, which is to be paid taking into consideration the dependency of the claimants, the personal law is not applicable”, the court observed. Highlighting the mandate of Section 168 of the MV Act, Justice Chowdhary held that the compensation awarded by MACT has to be paid to the Claimants, as considered to be appropriate to by the Tribunal given the loss of dependency, disregarding the inheritance as per personal law of the Claimants.