An accident under Sec. 3(1) of the Workmen's Compensation Act includes not only physical accidents but also events happening internally to a workman, such as failure of heart and the like, if the employment is a contributory cause or has accelerated the death of the workman.

Nagendra Rai, J.

1. The appellant, a Government of India undertaking, has filed the present appeal against the order dated March 18, 1983 passed by the Presiding Officer, Labour Court, Bokaro Steel City (Commissioner under the Workmens Compensation Act) by which he allowed the claim of Rs. 21,000.00 (twenty-one thousand) with penalty of 50 per cent, i.e., Rs. 10,500.00 (ten thousand five hundred) and interest on the compensation amount at the rate of 6 per cent per annum from the date of accident till the date of realisation.

2. The applicant-respondent is the widow of the deceased Ali Ahmad who was employed as driver under Bokaro Steel City Ltd., in slag granulation plant. While he was on duty he died on June 30, 1979. The respondent filed an application under Sec. 3 of the Workmens Compensation Act (hereinafter to be referred to as the Act) staling, inter alia, that her husband died on June 30, 1979 in a fatal accident while he was employed as driver in the slag granulation plant, Bokaro Steel City Ltd., Dhanbad. At the relevant time he was getting basic salary of Rs. 330.00 and she is a legal heir of the deceased and entitled to get compensation amount of Rs. 21,000.00 according to his basic salary. She gave several letters to the management for the payment of compensation amount but the management did not pay any heed to her request. She had to maintain her two children and as such requested that the management may be directed to pay the amount of compensation.

3. The claim of respondent was resisted by the appellant management mainly on the ground that the deceased died natural death and as such she is not entitled to get compensation in accordance with the terms of Sec. 3 of the Act. While he was attached to an ambulance bearing No. BRX 5386, he suddenly developed severe pain in his chest. In the evening at about 6.15 p.m. he was seen fixing the tyre of the ambulance which was standing in front of the site office. All of a sudden he cried in pain and wanted help. A number of workers arrived and took him in a vehicle to the Bokaro General Hospital but in the hospital the doctor declared him dead. The post-mortem was carried out at the Sadar Hospital at Dhanbad and according to the opinion of the doctor it was a case of sudden cerebral haemorrhage. The deceased did not die as a result of any accident arising out of and in course of his employment. The matter was examined by the management and it was found that she was not entitled to compensation and as such the amount of compensation was not deposited with the Workmens Compensation Commissioner.

4. The applicant-respondent examined three witnesses, namely, AW 1 Usman Ali, AW 2 Nuraisha Khatoon herself and AW3 Parmanand Shukla. Opposite party-appellant also examined one formal witness K.C. Shrivastava, who proved the accident report Exh. M-1 and the covering letter marked Exh. M-2. The applicant-respondent also brought on the record four documents, Exhs. A-1 to A-4. The relevant document for the purpose of this appeal is A-2, the post-mortem report.

5. The Presiding Officer, Labour Court, after considering the relevant materials on the record came to the conclusion that the accident causing injury to the workman resulting in his death occurred during his employment and awarded the aforesaid amount of compensation.

6. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the appellant contended that (he deceased died a natural death and he did not die because of injury by an accident arising out of and in course of employment and as such the employer has no liability for giving compensation under the provisions of the Act.

7. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the respondent, on the other hand, contended that the deceased while working in course of employment had a severe heart attack as a result of which he died and as such his death was caused due to injury by an accident arising out of and in course of employment and the Presiding Officer, Labour Court, rightly granted the