Karnataka HC raises compensation for Bidadi homemaker’s family to Rs 59.69 lakh

Pushpa alias Puttathayamma’s family will receive Rs 59.69 lakh in compensation, after the Karnataka High Court increased an earlier tribunal award of Rs 11.8 lakh nearly fivefold.

Puttathayamma was riding pillion on a motorcycle ridden by her husband, Mayanna Gowda, on October 23, 2011. The couple were travelling to a funeral when the motorcycle lost control near Kenpanahalli gate in Bidadi. She suffered serious head injuries, underwent treatment at several hospitals for 45 days and died on June 13, 2012.

Her family had said she worked as a flower vendor and earned Rs 8,000 a month, but the court found no evidence for that work. It nevertheless held that she should be recognised as a homemaker.

A division bench of Justices Jayant Banerji and Tara Vitasta Ganju relied on the Supreme Court’s Shishu Pal ruling, which sets a notional monthly value of Rs 30,000 for a homemaker’s domestic care and support. The bench awarded Rs 50.4 lakh for loss of dependency, while retaining Rs 7.36 lakh in medical expenses and Rs 50,000 for conveyance and attendant charges awarded earlier.