Supreme Court: Compassionate Assistance Deductible From MV Act Compensation

Home / Top Stories / Supreme Court Judgments Statutory Compassionate Assistance Can Be Deducted From MV Act Compensation: Supreme Court X SC upholds deduction of compassionate assistance from accident compensation. Supreme Court says statutory compassionate assistance paid under Haryana Rules can be deducted from compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act. The Supreme Court recently observed that compensation under the Motor Vehicles Act and statutory compassionate assistance are both compensatory in nature, and therefore, deduction of the latter from the total compensation determined under the law is justified. A Bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh upheld the deduction of compassionate assistance received by the dependants of a deceased woman from the compensation payable under the Motor Vehicles Act , citing the settled legal position in Reliance General Insurance Co Ltd Vs Shashi Sharma (2016) . Why did the Supreme Court uphold the deduction? Court was hearing a claim petition filed by the husband and children of Smt Mamta Sharma, a Clerk in the Secrecy Branch of Kurukshetra University, Haryana. She died in an accident caused by the rash and negligent driving of a truck driver. The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Kurukshetra, had awarded Rs 34,08,675 with 7.5% interest per annum. SBI General Insurance Company Ltd, the insurer, challenged the award before the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The high court decided the appeal on July 29, 2025. The high court modified the compensation and deducted approximately Rs 29 lakh received by the claimants under the Haryana Compassionate Assistance to the Dependants of Deceased Government Employees Rules, 2006. It directed payment of the remaining amount of Rs 3,50,532. Both the tribunal and the high court quantified the deceased's monthly income at Rs 20,687. Compassionate assistance The Supreme Court noted that there was no dispute regarding Mamta Sharma's professionally earned income. The important question before it concerned the determination of her income and any additions to it on account of her contribution to the household. On deduction of the compassionate assistance under the 2006 Rules, the bench said the legal position was already settled. "On the question of the deduction in accordance with the Rules 2006 the law is no longer res integra. The judgment in Reliance General Insurance Co. Ltd Vs Shashi Sharma, has settled the law since compensation under the MV Act and Rules 2006 are both statutory in nature, deduction of the latter is justified," the Bench said. The Bench pointed out that the claimants had already received Rs 29,78,928 from the deceased's employer. They had also received Rs 18 lakh from the insurer in 2015. Thus, the total amount received by them so far was Rs 47,78,928. The Bench noted that the insurer had specifically undertaken that it would not seek a refund from the claimants if the court so directed. Court also noted that the claimants had already spent the entire amount received for the education and settlement of the deceased's children. "Having spent the entire amount, perhaps it would be in the interest of justice that the present petition is disposed of with the direction that no amount shall be recovered from the petitioners nor would any other amount be payable to them," Court ordered. Case Title: Pawan Ashri & Anr Vs SBI General Insurance Company Ltd & Ors Bench: Justices Sanjay Karol and N Kotiswar Singh Date of Judgment: August 4, 2026