Partly allowed

Smt. Shashikala v. the Chief Engineer

Karnataka HC27 Jan 2023MFA/8879/2015

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Appeal filed under Section 30 of the Employees Compensation Act, 1923, against an award of Rs.2,35,000. The High Court increased the compensation to Rs.3,26,140 based on higher income and dependency factors, with enhanced amount and interest awarded.

What did the court decide?

Enhanced compensation of Rs.91,140 with interest @ 12% p.a. from date of accident till realization in addition to Tribunal award.

Smt. Shashikala Vs the Chief Engineer — Pension and Retirement Benefits | Karnataka HC (2023)

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MFA No. 8879 of 2015

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IN THE HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA AT BENGALURU

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DATED THIS THE 27^TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2023

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BEFORE

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THE HON'BLE MR JUSTICE HANCHATE SANJEEVKUMAR MISCELLANEOUS FIRST APPEAL NO. 8879 OF 2015 (WC) BETWEEN:

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SMT. SHASHIKALA, AGED ABOUT 46 YEARS, W/O LATE SRI. GOPALA BHANDARY,

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KUM. LAXMI, AGED ABOUT 25 YEARS, D/O LATE SRI. GOPALA BHANDARY,

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MR. SHRAVAN KUMAR, AGED ABOUT 24 YEARS, S/O LATE SRI. GOPALA BHANDARY,

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Digitally signed by JAI JYOTHI J Location: HIGH COURT OF KARNATAKA

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KUM. KUMUDA, AGED ABOUT 22 YEARS, D/O LATE SRI. GOPALA BHANDARY,

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ALL ARE R/AT "LAXMI NIVAS" MANGALAPETE, P.O. KUTHETHOOR, VIA. KATIPALLA, MANGALURU-574 149.

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…APPELLANTS

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(BY SRI. V.S NAIK , ADVOCATE)

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MFA No. 8879 of 2015

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AND:

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THE CHIEF ENGINEER, NEW MANGALORE PORT TRUST, POST PANAMBUR, MANGALURU-575 010.

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…RESPONDENT

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(BY SMT. ROSHINI THAMMAIAH, ADVOCATE)

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THIS MFA IS FILED U/S.30 OF THE EMPLOYEES COMPENSATION ACT, AGAINST THE JUDGMENT AND AWARD DATED 24.03.2015 PASSED ON ECA NO.25/14 ON THE FILE OF THE PRINCIPAL SENIOR CIVIL JUDGE & COMMISSIONER FOR EMPLOYEES COMPENSATION, MANGALORE, PARTLY ALLOWING THE CLAIM PETITION FOR COMPENSATION AND SEEKING ENHANCEMENT OF COMPENSATION.

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THIS APPEAL, COMING ON FOR ADMISSION, THIS DAY,

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THE COURT DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:

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JUDGMENT

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The appeal is filed by the claimants under Section 30 of the Employee's Compensation Act, 1923 (for short 'EC Act'), seeking enhancement of the compensation.

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The brief facts of the case are that the deceased - Gopala Bhandary was working under the

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MFA No. 8879 of 2015

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respondent as Helper (water supply). On 05.09.1998, he was posted to work in third shift i.e., between 10.00 p.m. to 6.00 a.m. On 06.09.1998 at about 6.00 a.m., one Sri Menpa, Asst. P.A.C.M. reached the pump house near new U.G.R. for duty and saw Gopala Bhandary lying on the floor of pump house and showing chest pain and breathing problem. Immediately, he was shifted to Port Trust Hospital, Panambur then to Fr.Muller's Medical Hospital, Mangalore for treatment and at about 8.45 a.m. on 06.09.1998, he died in the hospital while taking treatment. Therefore, the claimants preferred to file claim petition under Section 10 of the Employee's Compensation Act, 1923, seeking compensation.

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Heard the arguments on both sides and perused the records.

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4. The Commissioner/Tribunal has awarded the

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compensation of Rs.2,35,000/- along with interest at the

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MFA No. 8879 of 2015

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rate of 12% p.a. from the date of accident till its realisation.

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The Tribunal has erred in taking monthly income at Rs.3,000/- p.m. and applied factor of 156.47, has awarded compensation of Rs.2,35,000/- is on the lesser side. The incident was caused on 06.09.1998. Therefore, the monthly wage of Rs.4,000/- p.m. is taken into consideration as per Section 4 of the EC Act.

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The deceased was aged 47 years as on the date of the incident. Therefore, the relevant factor is 163.07 as per Schedule 4 of the EC Act. Therefore, the loss of dependency is hereby re-assessed and quantified as under:

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Rs.4,000 x 50/100 x 163.07 = Rs.3,26,140/-

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Accordingly, a sum of Rs.3,26,140/- is awarded.

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The Commissioner/Tribunal has awarded the compensation of Rs.2,35,000/-, but the appellants/

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MFA No. 8879 of 2015

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claimants are entitled to total compensation of Rs.3,26,140/- . Therefore, the appellants/claimants are entitled to enhanced compensation of Rs.91,140/- (Rs.3,26,140 - Rs.2,35,000) with interest at the rate of 12% p.a. from the date of accident till its realization, in addition to what has been awarded by the

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Commissioner/Tribunal.

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Accordingly, I proceed to pass the following:

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ORDER

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i. The appeal is allowed-in-part .

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ii. The judgment and award passed by the

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Commissioner/Tribunal in ECA No.25/2014 is hereby modified holding the claimants are entitled for enhanced compensation of Rs.91,140/- with interest @ 12% p.a., from the date of accident till its realization, in addition to what has been awarded by the Tribunal.

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MFA No. 8879 of 2015

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iii. The appellants/claimants are not entitled for the interest for the delayed period of 167 days in filing the appeal.

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iv. Costs made easy.

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v. Registry is directed to return the Trial Court Records to the Tribunal, along with certified copy of the order forthwith without any delay.

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vi. Draw award accordingly.

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Sd/JUDGE

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Smt. Shashikala v. the Chief Engineer

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Smt. Shashikala v. the Chief Engineer

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

What the court decided

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