Point of Law: Section 5 of Revenue Recovery Act, 1890 which is read as recovery by Collectors of sums recoverable as arrears of revenue by other public officers or by local authorities.

ORDER :

1. The petitioner-Insurance Company is before this Court seeking for the following reliefs:

(i) Issue any writ or writs holding that use of chapter II and consequently order 21 of Code of Civil Procedure 1908 in recovery of amount as initiated by XII Additional Senior Civil Judge and XXXVII ACMM, Bengaluru as per Annexure-E dated 23.02.2018 and assumption of power to execute in pursuance to Annexure-F are opposed to section 31 of Employees Compensation Act 1923.

(ii) Pass such other order or orders as this Hon’ble Court deems fit, under the facts and circumstances of the case, in the interest of justice and equity.

2. The petitioner is in the business of General Insurance and issuing of all kinds of policies of insurance including motor vehicle policies as contemplated under Section 147 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (the ‘M.V. Act’ for short) as also Workmen's compensation policy.

3. In terms of the Act policy issued under section 147 of the M.V. Act, the risk of the employee doing certain jobs, while being employed by the employer in the use of a particular vehicle would also be covered under the policy, recourse to which could be exercised under the Employees Compensation Act, 1923 (the ‘ECA Act’ for short). The proceedings initiated for recovery of compensation proceedings in MVC/CR/14/2009 before the Commissioner for Employee Compensation by respondent No. 3 herein, wherein the Employee Compensation Commissioner passed an award on 24.06.2013 determining the compensation payable by the petitioner to be Rs. 5,16,672/- with interest at the rate of 10% per annum.

4. The petitioner-insurance company had preferred an appeal in MFA No. 9291/2017 which came to be dismissed, wherein the award was confirmed by this Court.

5. In the meanwhile, the cases pending before the Employee Compensation Commissioner were transferred to the Civil Court under various notifications issued by the Government of Karnataka commencing from the notification dated 23.1.2014 under sub-section 1 of Section (20) of the ECA.

6. Respondent No. 3 upon such transfer initiated execution proceedings in Execution No. 2098/2017 and Order 21 Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, though the petitioner objected to the same the proceeding were taken up. It is aggrieved by the same that the petitioner is before this Court contending that no proceedings under Order 21 of the Code of Civil Procedure for the execution of an award could be initiated before a Civil Court.

7. Sri. A.N. Krishna Swamy, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would submit that:

7.1. A Employee Compensation Commissioner is a statutory authority appointed under Section 20 of the ECA.

7.2. The State Government may by notification in the official gazette appoint any person who is or has been in judicial service for the period of not less than five years or who is or has been for not less than five years an advocate or a pleader or a person who has been a gazetted officer for not less than five years having educational qualification and experiences in Personal Management in Human Recourses Development and Industrial relations to be a Commissioner for Employees Compensation for such area as may be prescribed in the notification.

7.3. His submissions is that, in view of the nature of appointment being made under sub-section 1 of Section 20 of the ECA, such Commissioner would be a statutory authority and not a court in as much as the persons who could be appointed are not restricted to those in judicial service or those who are Judges but could be of persons who could have retired from the judicial services, having practiced as an advocate or having educational qualification in Personal Management in Human Resources Development and Industrial Relation as also any gazetted officer.

7.4. The ECA being a special enactment the method and manner of recovery is provided under Section 31 of the ECA. The said Act being self-contained, recovery of any amount awarded would have to be made in terms of and as