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Compensation to widow does not abate on remarriage

In MAC.APP. 26/2019, DINCY DEVASSY vs UNITED INDIA INSURANCE CO., a disproportionately lower compensation was paid by the insurer to the widow on death of her husband on the ground that the lady had remarried. 

The Delhi High Court rejected the ground for reduced compensation observing that re-marriage of a widow has nothing to do with her right to and claim for compensation, for the loss which accrued to her on account of unnatural demise of her husband. The calculation of loss of dependency was on the basis of her dependency on her deceased husband; her loss is equal to the loss of dependency suffered by her parents-in-law. Her decision to re-marry was entirely her personal choice, over which nobody can have any say. Her right to claim compensation crystallized upon her husband‟s life being tragically snatched away in the motor accident. Therefore, simply because she has now re-married, her claim does not abate or lessen. Who can judge whether the second marriage was not a compromise because of her personal circumstances and whether it would have the same value emotionally and psychologically as the first marriage. Her entitlement fructified when the dependency was calculated. Therefore as an aggrieved widow, she would be entitled to a share of compensation apropos “loss of dependency” of equal amount to her parents-in-law, who had lost their son. 

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