A bench of justices G S Singhvi and Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhayay said judgements relating to accidents and land acquisitions should be revisited by courts in tune with the changing socio-economic conditions of the people.
"In our view, it will be naive to say that the wages or total emoluments/income of a person who is self-employed or who is employed on a fixed salary without provision for annual increment etc. Would remain the same throughout his life.
The rise in the cost of living affects everyone across the board. It does not make any distinction between rich and poor, Justice Singhvi, writing the judgement, said.
The apex court passed the ruling while enhancing the compensation amount by Rs 1.40 lakh to a woman Santosh Devi whose husband was killed in a road accident in Punjab in 1995.
The Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Gurdaspur(MACT) had pegged the compensation at 1,32,000/- with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from the date of application, which was upheld by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, following which Devi had appealed in the apex court.