Human dignity forms inseparable component of life: Supreme Court

New Delhi: Human dignity forms an inseparable component of life and cases involving child victims suffering permanent or near total disability constitute a distinct and special category within the law relating to motor accident compensation, the Supreme Court said on Monday. It said while determining compensation in such cases, the courts must remain conscious that what has been taken away is not merely physical capacity but the child's entire future life. The observations came from a bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and N V Anjaria which enhanced the compensation payable to a child, who suffered severe spinal cord and neurological injuries in a road accident, from Rs 45.40 lakh to Rs 83.38 lakh. The bench noted that the minor was only six months old when the accident occurred in June 2015 and the disability suffered by her was permanent and irreversible. "Human dignity forms an inseparable component of life. When a catastrophic injury deprives a child of the ability to perform the ordinary functions independently, the resulting loss transcends the realm of physical disability and assumes the character of a continuing deprivation of dignity," it said. "Therefore, the injury affects not merely the body but the very manner in which life itself is experienced," the bench said. The top court delivered its verdict on an appeal filed by the child's mother against a January 2023 judgement of the Orissa High Court, which had enhanced the compensation to Rs 45.40 lakh from Rs 30.12 lakh granted by a Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in Cuttack in April 2022. In its verdict, the apex court said the case concerns a child who has suffered permanent disability at a tender age and whose entire future stands altered on account of the injuries sustained in the accident. "In such circumstances, the court is required to adopt an approach which is realistic, humane and consistent with the settled principles governing award of compensation under the MV Act (Motor Vehicles Act, 1988)," it said. The bench said the MV Act is a beneficial piece of legislation and its provisions must receive a liberal and purposive interpretation so as to advance the object sought to be achieved. It said the consequences of a catastrophic injury suffered during childhood were not confined merely to the immediate physical impairment caused by the accident. "Such injuries alter the entire course of the child's existence and affect every subsequent stage of her life. The law, therefore, cannot evaluate claims involving injured children through the same lens that may ordinarily be applied in cases involving adults," it said. Dealing with the case, the bench noted that as per the disability certificate, the child had suffered 90 per cent permanent disability due to the accident. It said the medical evidence further disclosed that the minor would not be able to discharge normal day-to-day activities independently and would require assistance even for basic functions. "Therefore, though the permanent physical disability has been assessed and certified at 90 per cent, her functional disability is total, i.e. 100 per cent. Hence, her disability would be taken as 100 per cent," the bench said. It enhanced the compensation payable to the appellant by the insurance company to Rs 83.38 lakh.