SupremeToday Landscape Ad
Back
Next
Judicial Analysis Court Copy Headnote Facts Arguments Court observation
Listen Audio Icon Pause Audio Icon
judgment-img

1976 Supreme(MP) 34

High Court Of Madhya Pradesh
G. P. Singh and S. M. N. Raina, JJ.
SUNDARBAI
Versus
GENERAL MANAGER ORDNANCE FACTORY
Decided On : Mar 29,1976

Advocates Appeared:
GULAB GUPTA, R.P.Sinha,

Headnote:Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923 - S. 3 (1) - injury and accident - meaning of - workman suffering from disease - injury suffered by such workman - when an injury connected with employment - burden of proof and its nature.

       (a) 'Accident' means an untoward mishap which is not expected or designed by the workman. 'Injury' means physiological injury.

       (b) 'Accident' and 'injury' are distinct in cases where accident is an event happening externally to a man; e.g., when a workman falls from a ladder and suffers injury. But accident may be an event happening internally to a man and in such cases 'accident' and 'injury' coincide. Such cases are illustrated by bursting of an aneurism, failure of heart and the like while the workman is doing his normal work.

       (c) Physiological injury suffered by a workman due mainly to the progress of a disease unconnected with employment, may amount to an injury arising out of and in the course of employment if the work which the workman was doing at the time of the occurrence of the injury contributed to its occurrence.

       (d) The connection between the injury and employment may be furnished by ordinary strain of ordinary work if the strain did in fact contribute to or accelerate or hasten the injury.

       (e) The burden to prove the connection of employment with the injury is on the applicant, but he is entitled to succeed if on a balance of probabilities a reasonable man might hold that the more probable conclusion is that there was a connection. [Para 10

       The accident in the instant case was rupture of the blood vessels. It is obvious that the accident was in the course of his employment; but the crucial point is whether it can be said to arise out of his employment within the meaning of section 3 of the Act. The learned Commissioner held that as the deceased was not engaged in strenuous work and was already suffering from the disease of aneurism, it could not be said to arise out of the employment. This view does not appear to be correct. [Para 16

       The words 'arising out of employment' mean that during the course of the employment, injury has resulted from some risk incidental to the duties of the service which unless so engaged the workman would not otherwise have suffered. In other words there must be causal relationship between the accident and the employment. AIR 1970 SC 1906 relied on. 1959 JLJ 295 overruled. [Para 18

JUDGMENT :

( 1. ) THE appellant Suderbais husband Moolchand was a workman in the Ordnance Factory, Khamaria, the respondent in this appeal. Moolchand died on 8th May 1969 while working in the Factory. The post mortem examination revealed that Moolchand was suffering from aneurism of aorta and cause of death was rupture of aneurism. The appellant applied to the Commissioner for Workmens Compensation for award of Rs. 7,000 as compensation alleging that death of Moolchand resulted from injury caused by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment. In particular it was alleged that injury was caused due to strenuous work. The respondent denied that the death of Moolchand resulted from any injury by accident arising out of his employment. It was, however, admitted that Moolchand was doing his normal work as a labourer in the Box Plant Section when he died. The appellant led evidence to prove that on 8th May 1969 Moolchand before the tea break was engaged in loading and unloading heavy boxes from a lorry and after the tea break he was cleaning covers when he died (see the evidence of Hari a. W. 3 ). The respondent on the other hand examined the Foreman Harliker (N. A. W. 2) to prove that Moolchand throughout was doing the comparatively light work of cleaning covers. Dr. Srivastava, who had conducted the post mortem examination, was also examined. He stated that Moolchand died due to rupture of aneurism of arch of aorta. He further stated that "if a man is already having disease of aneurism, then over-strain will accelerate the death". The Commissioner rejected the evidence that Moolchand on 8th May did the work of loading and unloading heavy boxes and he accepted the evidence of harlikar that Moolchand was throughout doing the comparatively light work of cleaning covers. The Commissioner then concluded that he was unable to believe "the applicants theory of overstrain to the deceased on the date of incident" and that he found no force in the contention that "moolchand died due to strenuous work". In this view of the matter, the application for compensation was dismissed by the Commissioner by his order dated 19th July 1972 against which the present appeal has been filed.

( 2. ) THE employers liability to pay compensation under sub-section (1)of sect on 3 of the Workmens Compensation Act, 1923, arises only "if personal injury is caused to a workman by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment". In the instant case there is no difficulty about the course of employment as the workman died while doing his normal work in the factory where he was employed. The question that arises for consideration in the case is whether the workmans death resulted from an injury by accident arising out of his employment.

( 3. ) SECTION 3 of the Act is modelled on the lines of similar provisions contained in the corresponding English Acts and English decisions which show a progressive and liberal approach, are useful in understanding and applying this section. In the leading case of Fenton v. Thorley and Co. Limited (1903 A C 443, pp. 448, 449.) Lord macnaghten said that the word "accident" should be understood in the popular and ordinary sense "as denoting an unlooked for mishap or an untoward event which is not expected or designed," and he quoted with approval the opinion of lord M laren in Stewart v. Wilsons and Clyde Coal Co. Ltd ( (1902) 5 F 120.) that "if a workman in the reasonable performance of his duties sustains a physiological injury as the result of the work he is engaged in, this is accidental injury in the sense of the statute. " In Fentons case the workman ruptured himself by an act of over exertion in trying to turn the wheel of a machine. The injury occurred while he was engaged in his ordinary work and in doing or trying to do the very thing which he meant to accomplish. The House of Lords in reversing the order of the Court of Appeal and the award of the County Court Judge held that the workman suffered i








































Click Here to Read the rest of this document

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
SupremeToday Portrait Ad
supreme today icon
logo-black

An indispensable Tool for Legal Professionals, Endorsed by Various High Court and Judicial Officers

Please visit our Training & Support
Center or Contact Us for assistance

qr

Scan Me!

India’s Legal research and Law Firm App, Download now!

For Daily Legal Updates, Join us on :

whatsapp-icon Back to top