Estimate and Guesstimate
The concept of guess work
is not unknown to various fields of law as it applies in the cases relating to
insurance, taxation, compensation as well as under the Labour Laws.
The court has a discretion
applying the guess work to the facts of the given case but it is not unfettered
and has to be reasonable having connection to the facts on record adduced by
the parties by way of evidence.
The court further held as
under:
“‘Guess’
as understood in its common parlance is an estimate without any specific
information while “calculations” are always made with reference to specific
data. “Guesstimate” is an estimate based on a mixture of guesswork and
calculations and it is a process in itself. At the same time “guess” cannot be
treated synonymous to “conjecture”. “Guess” by itself may be a statement or
result based on unknown factors while “conjecture” is made with a very slight
amount of knowledge, which is just sufficient to incline the scale of
probability. “Guesstimate” is with higher certainty than mere “guess” or a
“conjecture” per se.”
(See
also: Thakur Kamta Prasad Singh v. State of Bihar, AIR 1976 SC 2219; Special
Land Acquisition Officer v. Karigowda & Ors., AIR 2010 SC 2322; and Charan
Das & etc. etc. v. H.P. Housing & Urban Development Authority &
Ors. etc., (2010) 13 SCC 398).
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