Unborn child entitled to compensation under Motor Vehicles Act: High Court

A child in the mother’s womb at the time of his father’s death in an accident will be entitled to compensation under the Motor Vehicles (MV) Act, the Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled.

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“Though the child was in the mother’s womb on the day of the accident, he will be entitled to compensation under the MV Act,” Justice Suvir Sehgal asserted, while doubling the compensation from Rs 8.84 lakh initially awarded by the Motor Accidents Claims Tribunal.

The ruling came in a case where Rakesh Kumar, riding a motorcycle, lost his life after being hit by a tractor. The accident occurred on October 1, 2015, and an FIR was registered the following day at Pundri police station for causing death by negligence and another offence under Sections 279 and 304-A of the IPC.

Justice Sehgal observed that Rakesh Kumar’s wife was pregnant at the time of the accident. She gave birth to a male child on November 18, 2015, nearly two months after the accident. The court held that the child, despite being unborn at the time, was entitled to compensation.

Allowing the appeal for enhanced compensation, the court awarded an additional amount of Rs 9.29 lakh to the appellants-family, payable with an interest rate of 7.5% per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition. The appeals were accordingly disposed of.