Rs 8,000 a month was too little for a student who had cleared the Common Proficiency Test, the Andhra Pradesh High Court has held, raising the compensation for CA student Dawood Hussain’s family from Rs 8.80 lakh to Rs 25.38 lakh.
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Amaravati: Enhancing the compensation for CA student Dawood Hussain’s family, the Andhra Pradesh High Court has lifted the award from Rs 8.80 lakh to Rs 25.38 lakh after he was killed when an Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation (APSRTC) bus hit his motorcycle from behind [Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation v. G. Shajahan Begum and Others].
Deciding MACMA No. 2595 of 2017 by a judgment dated August 7, 2026, Justice Tuhin Kumar Gedela dismissed the corporation’s appeal and modified the judgment of the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal. Ms. Meghana, for Mr. Aravala Rama Rao, appeared for the appellant, and Mr. Nikhilesh T., for Mr. Varun Byreddy, for the claimants.
A higher notional income for a CA aspirant
The Tribunal’s assessment of income fell short, the Court found. With the deceased pursuing Chartered Accountancy after passing the Common Proficiency Test, it put his notional monthly income at Rs 15,000. Drawing on the Supreme Court’s decisions in Navjot Singh and National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi, and on a Division Bench ruling of the same High Court, it added 40 per cent for future prospects, deducted 50 per cent for personal expenses and applied a multiplier of 18.
On what the course of study said about his prospects, the Court observed:
substantiates that the deceased is having a bright future
The Tribunal’s assessment, the Court held, was not justified.
How the claim reached the High Court
Dawood Hussain died in November 2009 when the APSRTC bus struck his motorcycle from behind. His parents and brothers claimed compensation. By then he had cleared the Common Proficiency Test and was preparing for the next stage of the Chartered Accountancy course.
The Tribunal had assumed a monthly income of Rs 8,000 and awarded Rs 8,80,000. The corporation appealed against the award, and the claimants sought enhancement.
The revised figures
Loss of dependency came to Rs 22.68 lakh on this basis. To that the Court added Rs 40,000 each as loss of consortium for six claimants, Rs 2.40 lakh in all, and Rs 15,000 each for loss of estate and funeral expenses. The total was fixed at Rs 25.38 lakh.
Time to pay, and court fee
The corporation has eight weeks from receiving the judgment to deposit the enhanced amount before the Tribunal, after adjusting what it has already deposited. No interest is payable on the enhanced amount, and no costs were awarded. Since the award is higher than the amount originally claimed, the claimants must pay deficit court fee on the excess.
What the ruling shows
When a victim is a student with no regular income, tribunals often settle on a low notional figure. Here a High Court looked at demonstrated academic progress, a cleared professional entrance stage, to set a higher notional income and add future prospects.
The judgment applies settled Supreme Court principles on future prospects and multipliers to the facts of one claim, and it leaves the corporation to comply within the time fixed.
Case Title: Andhra Pradesh State Road Transport Corporation v. G. Shajahan Begum and Others [MACMA No. 2595 of 2017]
Bench: Justice Tuhin Kumar Gedela, Andhra Pradesh High Court
Date of Judgment: August 7, 2026
Appearances: Ms. Meghana, for Mr. Aravala Rama Rao, for the appellant; Mr. Nikhilesh T., for Mr. Varun Byreddy, for the respondents