The Delhi High Court has significantly increased the compensation awarded to the families of two Netaji Subhash Institute of Technology (NSIT) students who died in a 2017 road accident, bringing the total payout for one family to more than Rs 1 crore.
Justice Anish Dayal delivered the ruling on July 1, resolving cross-appeals filed by the victims’ families, who sought higher compensation, and ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, which had petitioned to reduce the amounts previously set by a claims tribunal.
The High Court raised the compensation for the family of Vinay Khurana, a fourth-year student, to Rs 1,07,71,800, marking an increase of Rs 23,85,800 over the Rs 83.86 lakh originally awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal in September 2020. Similarly, the family of Prabhleen Kaur, a third-year student, will now receive Rs 84,32,600, which is an enhancement of Rs 45,82,600 from the tribunal’s initial award of Rs 38.50 lakh.
Details of the Fatal Accident
The fatal crash occurred in February 2017 while Khurana and Kaur were traveling to Delhi in a vehicle driven by a mutual friend. Investigators established that the car was being driven at a very high speed in a reckless and negligent manner when it slammed into a road divider railing.
While the driver claimed in written submissions that a reflection of sunlight caused him to lose balance of the vehicle, Justice Dayal dismissed the explanation as implausible. The court highlighted that neither the driver nor the car’s owner took the witness stand to contest the allegations of negligence or explain the circumstances of the crash, leaving the evidence from the police FIR and chargesheet unchallenged.
Academic Merit and Financial Prospects
In enhancing the compensation, the High Court emphasized the academic promise of both victims, noting they had secured admission to a prestigious engineering institution after performing well on the Joint Entrance Examination (JEE).
Senior advocate Sumeet Verma, representing the grieving families, pointed to the students’ imminent career prospects. At the time of the accident, Khurana had already received a job offer from a government enterprise, while Kaur was engaged in a paid internship with a pharmaceutical firm. The court agreed that 2017 served as a watershed year for calculating their projected future earnings.
Interest Rates on Delayed Payouts
Addressing the extensive delay since the incident, the court ordered specific interest rates on the payouts. Noting that nine years have passed since the crash and six years since the tribunal’s first ruling in 2020, the judge maintained a 9 percent annual interest rate on the original compensation amounts.
However, the newly added, enhanced portion of the compensation will accrue interest at a rate of 6.75 percent per year.
