The Allahabad High Court ruled that income tax returns (ITRs) filed two years after an accident cannot be relied upon to establish pre-accident income in motor accident claims, absent corroborative evidence.
The Allahabad High Court has held that income tax returns (ITRs) filed two years after the date of an accident cannot, by themselves, be used to establish a claimant's pre-accident income in motor accident compensation cases, absent supporting documentary evidence. The court emphasized that such belated filings do not serve as reliable proof of earnings at the time of the incident.
"The ITRs filed two years after the accident, without any supporting evidence like salary slips, Form 16, or employer records, cannot be the sole basis to determine the income prior to the accident,"
the court observed, stressing the necessity of contemporaneous financial records to accurately assess the loss of earning capacity. The ruling came in a claim petition where the claimant sought enhanced compensation based on ITRs submitted well after the incident, with no immediate financial documentation from the period preceding the accident.
For practitioners, this decision reinforces the importance of gathering proximate financial evidence in motor accident claims. While ITRs remain relevant, they must be supported by proximate and corroborative documents, particularly where significant time has lapsed between the accident and the filing of returns. The judgment underscores evidentiary rigor in quantifying pecuniary claims under the Motor Vehicles Act.
