1. Heard learned counsel for the parties.

2. Leave granted.

3. The present appeal is directed against the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court of Punjab and Haryana at Chandigarh in FAO No.5543 of 2010 (O&M) by which, the compensation awarded to the appellant-claimant by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Kurukshetra (for short, the "MACT") upon death of her husband in an accident, has been enhanced from Rs.37,55,000/-(Thirty Seven Lakhs Fifty Five Thousand) to Rs.1,68,77,000/-(Rupees One Crore Sixty Eight Lakhs Seventy Seven Thousand) retaining the rate of interest at 7.5 per cent per annum from the date of filing of the claim petition till realisation.

4. Learned counsel for the appellant has submitted that the claim was instituted both for payment of compensation in U.S. dollar as well as in Indian Rupees. It was contended that once the Court arrived at a finding that the compensation had to be granted, the actual computation ought to have been at the conversion rate which was prevailing on the date of the judgment whereas in the present case, the Court had calculated the compensation on the basis of the conversion rate prevailing on the date of filing of claim petition. It was contended that this issue has been settled in the case of Forasol v Oil & Natural Gas Commission, 1984 Supp. SCC 263. It was further contended that a distinction has been made by the Court that the claimant has an option either to seek compensation in Indian Rupees or in foreign currency and once the claimant has raised a claim for payment in foreign currency and the same has to be taken back to the foreign country concerned, the rate of conversion should be as per the conversion rate prevailing on the date of the judgment and not on the date of the filing of the claim petition. It was further contended that with regard to future prospects, the law requires that if the deceased is aged below 40 years, the same should be computed @50 per cent whereas, in the present case, the same has been computed @40 per cent. For such proposition, he relied upon the judgment passed by the Constitution Bench of this Court in National Insurance Co. Ltd. v Pranay Sethi, (2017) 16 SCC 680. It was contended that the deceased admittedly was aged 32 years and thus, the future prospects had to be computed @50 per cent. Learned counsel has further raised the issue of deduction for personal expenses from salary, which according to him, should have been 1/3rd but has been made @50 per cent.

5. Per contra, learned counsel for respondent no.3-Insurance Company submitted that the appellant was not having a permanent job and was in a private job and thus, the future prospects has rightly been awarded @40 per cent. It was further contended that the Courts have also computed the compensation amount if the deceased had a salary in foreign currency at the rate of conversion prevailing at the time of filing of the claim petition. However, he could not controvert that as per the decision of the Constitution Bench in Pranay Sethi (supra) on the issue, 50 per cent is to be paid on the head of future prospects when the deceased is under 40 years of age. He further relied upon the decision of a Coordinate Bench of this Court in Shyam Prasad Nagalla and Others v Andhra Pradesh State Board Transport Corporation and Others, 2025 SCC OnLine SC 282 for the proposition that the rate of conversion should be as on the date of filing of the claim petition. He also relied upon the decision of a Coordinate Bench of this Court in United India Insurance Co. Ltd. v Satinder Kaur, (2021) 11 SCC 780 on the same issue.

6. Having considered the matter in its entirety, we find that the amount of compensation awarded by the High Court needs further enhancement relating to the aforesaid two heads of future prospects and the rate of conversion. Accordingly, the compensation awarded stands enhanced. The MACT shall calculate the amount afresh replacing 40 per cent future prospects as has been awarded by the High Court by 50 per cent and also, taking the conversion rate of U.S. dollar as prevailing on the date of the judgment passed by the MACT.

7. However, we are not persuaded to accede to the prayer of the learned counsel for the appellant to reduce the deduction for personal expenses from the salary of the deceased from 50 per cent to 1/3rd. The amount so calculated, shall be computed within one month from the date of production of copy of this order before the MACT and rest of the order of the High Court shall remain unchanged. The final amount so calculated, shall be paid to the appellant within two months thereafter. Needless to say that if any amount has already been paid during the interregnum period, the same shall be duly adjusted.

8. Before parting, the Court would indicate that the decision relied upon by learned counsel for the appellant covers the facts and circumstances of the present case whereas, the decisions relied upon by learned counsel for respondent no.3-Insurance Company are not applicable in the particular facts and circumstances of the present case inasmuch as, in the said cases relied upon by learned counsel for respondent no.3-Insurance Company, the claim was made only in Indian Rupees as the issue has been clarified in the judgment relied upon by learned counsel for the appellant.

9. The appeal stands allowed to the extent indicated above.

10. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of.