FACTS:
The appellants filed a compensation application before the Workmen Compensation Commissioner/Labour Court making a claim of Rs.2,15,280/- and also penalty to the tune of 50% of the compensation./-. The learned Commissioner awarded compensation on account of death in the sum of Rs.2,13,570/- with 12% interest from the date of accident.
Aggrieved and dissatisfied with the aforesaid judgment as passed by the learned Commissioner, the Insurance Company filed First Appeal before the High Court. The High Court then partly allowed the First Appeal. The Hon’ble Court directed the Insurance Company to pay interest on the amount of compensation from the date of adjudication of claim application and not from one month after from the date of accident.
Aggrieved by the aforesaid judgment of the High Court, then appellants have filed the present appeal.
ISSUE(S):
Whether the interest is payable under the Workmen Compensation Act from the date of the Award or from the date of accident?
JUDGMENT:
The Hon’ble Supreme Court in this case relied on the four judge bench decision in the case of Pratap Narain Singh Deo v. Srinivas Sabata [(1976) 1 SCC 289] and held that the appellants shall be entitled to interest at the rate of 12% from the date of the accident.
This judgment, apart from setting aside the order of Culcutta High Court in this very case, also overruled the judgment in the case of Uttarakhand Transport Corporation vs Satnam Singh, [(2011) 14 SCC 758] wherein it has been held that the interest was payable under the Workmen Compensation Act from the date of the Award and not from the of accident. Here, even though the judgment in the support of respondents is a more recent judgment by the same court, but the Pratap Singh Deo judgment was passed by a larger bench and hence, technically the Uttarakhand Transport case was also bound by this judgment.
RATIO: The interest under Workman’s Compensation Act is paid from the date of accident.
Author: Akshay Goel, Hidayatullah National Law University