Delhi High Court raises an elderly homemaker's accident compensation to ₹20,79,307, rejecting the age stereotype
14 October 2026
Justice Anish Dayal of the Delhi High Court has held that compensation cannot rest on the assumption that people stop contributing with age.
The judgment in Ganga Devi v. Rajesh Kumar & Ors., neutral citation 2026:DHC:9013, is dated 14 October 2026.
The claimant, a 74-year-old homemaker, was hit while boarding a bus at Samaspur bus stand, Pandav Nagar, on 19 February 2019. Both her legs were crushed under the rear wheels and she suffered 74 per cent permanent disability, including a below-knee amputation of the left leg.
The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal at Karkardooma Courts had awarded ₹14,42,000 with 7.5 per cent interest on 23 December 2023, granting nothing for loss of income on the reasoning that a 74-year-old could not be presumed to perform household services.
The High Court recomputed the total at ₹20,79,307, an enhancement of ₹6,37,307. It fixed notional income at ₹16,962 a month, the Delhi minimum wage for a skilled worker, set functional disability at 50 per cent and applied a multiplier of 5.
It awarded ₹1,30,000 for a prosthetic limb, ₹75,000 for maintenance, ₹5,00,000 for attendant charges and ₹1,00,000 for pain and suffering.
The Court relied on the Longitudinal Ageing Study in India and HelpAge India data showing older women continue caregiving and household work, and held that the principle of valuing unpaid care has no age ceiling.
In plain words
MACT Motor Accident Claims Tribunal — The tribunal that decides compensation claims arising out of road accidents.
Multiplier Factor used to capitalise annual loss — A number by which yearly loss of income is multiplied to arrive at compensation.
Notional income An assumed income for a person with no proved earnings — An income figure the court assumes where the claimant has no proved earnings, such as a homemaker.