New India Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Smt Laung Shree and Ors.

Delhi HC19 Jan 2026FAO/128/2025

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

FAO 128/2025; CM APPL. 28809/2025 (stay); New India Assurance Co Ltd; Smt Laung Shree and Ors.; Employees Compensation Act 1923; Section 30; Section 4A(3)(b); penalty on employer; insurance company directed to deposit award; truck UP-76K-7284; death of Shiv Kumar @ Pappu; accident 13.02.2017; Commissioner Shahdara & North East District; order dated 27.01.2025; release of remaining 50% award amount with interest; Manoj Kumar Ohri, J.; Delhi High Court; order dated 19.01.2026.

What did the court decide?

Appeal disposed of alongwith the pending application (CM APPL. 28809/2025 (stay)); remaining 50% of the award amount to be released to the claimant with interest accrued thereon. ¶¶15

New India Assurance Co. Ltd. Vs Smt Laung Shree and Ors. — Delhi HC (2026) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Appeal disposed of alongwith the pending application (CM APPL. 28809/2025 (stay)); remaining 50% of the award amount to be released to the claimant with interest accrued thereon.

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Issue for consideration

Whether the order dated 27.01.2025 (insurer directed to deposit award amount; employer directed to pay penalty) could successfully be assailed by the insurance company, given the limited scope of Section 30 of the Act to substantial questions of law, including on the employer-employee relationship. +1 more

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Court's answer

Considering the limited scope of Section 30 of the Act, wherein a substantial question of law is to be looked into, the Court found no merit in the contentions challenging the aspect on which the employer-employee relationship stood proved in the claim proceedings (as concluded by the Predecessor Bench on notice issued 13.05.2025).

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Ratio / Principle

The penalty under Section 4A(3)(b) of the Act was admittedly not imposed upon the insurance company but on the employer, who has not assailed the award; accordingly no ground survived for the insurer on the penalty.

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Key takeaways

Since the entire award amount stands deposited and 50% has already been released, the remaining 50% of the award amount is to be released to the claimant alongwith the interest accrued thereupon.ratio¶¶14

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

High Court of Delhi (Manoj Kumar Ohri, J.) disposed of FAO 128/2025 filed by New India Assurance Co Ltd against the order dated 27.01.2025 of the Commissioner under the Employees Compensation Act, 1923 (Shahdara & North East District), whereby the insurer was directed to deposit the award amount and the employer (respondent No. 6) to pay the penalty, in a death claim arising from the 13.02.2017 accident of truck UP-76K-7284 in which driver Shiv Kumar @ Pappu died. Relying on the Predecessor Bench's conclusions of 13.05.2025 that the employer-employee relationship stood proved and that, given the limited scope of Section 30 of the Act to substantial questions of law, the contentions lacked merit, and noting that the Section 4A(3)(b) penalty fell on the employer (who had not assailed the award) and not on the insurer, the Court directed release of the remaining 50% of the award amount to the claimant with accrued interest.

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$~20

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

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- FAO 128/2025 and CM APPL. 28809/2025 (stay) NEW INDIA ASSURANCE CO LTD .....Appellant Through: Ms.Kanchan Kaur Dhodi, Advocate

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versus

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SMT LAUNG SHREE AND ORS. .....Respondents Through: Mr.Chandan Prajapati, Ms.Arti Sharma and Mr.Vikrant Malwal, Advocates

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CORAM:

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HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANOJ KUMAR OHRI O R D E R % 19.01.2026

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By way of the present appeal, the appellant/Insurance Company seeks to assail the order dated 27.01.2025, passed by the learned Commissioner, Employees Compensation Act, 1923 (Shahdara & North East District), whereby the appellant was directed to deposit the award amount, while the employer/respondent No. 6 herein was directed to pay the penalty.

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Notably, the claim petition was filed in the context of death of one Sh. Shiv Kumar @ Pappu . He was stated to be employed as a driver with the appellant ( respondent No.1 therein ) , on vehicle bearing No. UP-76K-7284 (Truck) which met with an accident on 13.02.2017, resulting in fatal injuries to the deceased. The learned Commissioner, while noting the facts and the evidence therein, and considering that at the time of accident, the said vehicle was insured and the insurance policy was valid and subsisting on the day of the accident, directed the insurance company to pay the compensation amount. On the present appeal being filed, the Predecessor Bench, while issuing notice on 13.05.2025, came to the conclusion that the employer-

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/01/2026 at 12:43:41

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employee relationship stood proved in the claim proceedings. Considering the limited scope of Section 30 of the Act, wherein substantial question of law is to be looked into, the Court did not find any merit in the contentions raised on the aforesaid aspect.

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Though a limited notice was issued as to the imposition of penalty under Section 4A(3)(b) of the Act, however, concededly, the said penalty was not imposed upon the insurance company, but on the employer, who has not assailed the award.

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Considering that the entire award amount has been deposited, out of which 50% has already been released as noted in the order of this Court dated 13.05.2025, let the remaining 50% of the award amount be also released to the claimant, alongwith the interest accrued thereupon the said amount.

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In view of the above, the present petition is disposed of, alongwith the pending application.

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MANOJ KUMAR OHRI, J

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JANUARY 19, 2026 na

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 24/01/2026 at 12:43:41

New India Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Smt Laung Shree and Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

New India Assurance Co. Ltd. v. Smt Laung Shree and Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Why is it important?

What the court decided

Issues for consideration

Statutes considered

Procedural history

Parties & counsel

Coram

Case details

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