MAC.APP. No.266/2019

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

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MAC.APP. 266/2019

RAM VISHAL GUPTA & ORS

..... Appellants

Through:

Mr. S.N. Parashar, Advocate.

versus

SHOKEEN & ORS (CHOLAMANDLAM GEN INS CO LTD)

..... Respondents

Through:

Mr. Pankaj Gupta, Advocate for

Insurance Company.

CORAM:

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAJMI WAZIRI

NAJMI WAZIRI, J. (Oral)

1. The appellant impugns the award of compensation dated 11.05.2018

passed by the learned MACT in Suit No. 503/2017, on the ground that it is

on the lesser side. The deceased had attained a degree in Bachelor of

Computer Applications (BCA) and was pursuing his Masters in Computer

Application (MCA) from a private institute namely, Krishna Institute of

Engineering and Technology, Ghaziabad. He had claimed to be earning Rs.

30,000/- per month by imparting tuition. This earning was not proven. The

claimants had put forth documents to show that the students who passed out

from the said institution would be getting approximately Rs. 4 lacs per

annum. However, the learned Tribunal had not taken the same into

consideration. It has reasoned that employment of an MCA is dependent on

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a host of factors, such as the individual merit of the candidate, his response

to the queries by the prospective employers, his performance, his

personality; etc. as well as economic condition prevailing in the industry and

the overall robustness of the economy. It thus concluded that all those who

qualify MCA from KIET will not necessarily get an annual compensation

package of Rs. 4 lacs per annum. On the contrary, as per the data i.e. Exhibit

PW1/5 supplied by KIET, the minimum annual compensation offered in

2017 was Rs. 1.86 lacs and the maximum was Rs. 3.50 lacs i.e. salary

offered ranged between Rs. 15,500/- per month to Rs. 19,000/- per month.

2. The impugned order has reasoned as under:-

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are to be effected at the rate of 50% of monthly salary.”

3. The learned counsel for the appellant relies on the dicta of the

Supreme Court in Ashvinbhai Jayantilal Modi vs. Ramkaran Ramchandra

Sharma & Anr. (2015) 2 SCC 180. He submits that in a related

circumstance, the Supreme Court has granted a higher compensation

apropos a 19 year old medical student, who was pursuing his MBBS course

but lost his life on account of a motor-vehicular accident. The Supreme

Court had referred to the decision in Arvind Kumar Mishra v. New India

Assurance Co. Ltd. and Anr. (2010) 10 SCC 254, and had found it

appropriate to assume his future income as Rs. 25,000/- per month in the

year 2013 apropos the accident which had occurred in the year 2002. It

reasoned as under:-

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public employment as the basis.”

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4. In Ashvinbhai Jayantilal Modi (supra), the Court had assumed Rs.

60,000/- per annum, as the earnings of the student who was still pursuing his

degree in Bachelor of Engineering (Mechanical) from a prestigious institute

like B.I.T. It had considered that such students were interviewed by big

companies such as Tata as well as Reliance Industries and have been offered

pay packages of upto Rs. 3.5 lacs p.a. It was reasoned that even a higher

package was not to be considered for BE (Mechanical) Graduate from BIT.

A person so qualified, if he decided to join government service could have

gotten employed and he would have been put in the pay scale for Assistant

Engineer for which he would have earned atleast Rs. 60,000/- per annum.

The said amount was taken as the loss of his future earnings.

5. What is gleaned from the above is that the circumstance of each

individual will have to be seen apropos her/his academic record, the Institute

or the University from which the person was pursuing the academic/

professio