THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY Civil Miscellaneous Appeal No.206 of 2005 Between: Sk.Fathima Bee And Dated 19th September, 2014 …Appellant The General Manager, Southern Railway, Chennai …Respondent Counsel for the appellant: Sri P.Madhu Sudana Reddy Counsel for the respondent: Ms.G.Niveditha for Sri T.S.Venkata Ramana The Court made the following:
JUDGMENT:
This civil miscellaneous appeal arises out of order, dated 16.12.2004, in W.C.No.7 of 2003, on the file of the learned Commissioner for Workmen’s Compensation & Assistant Commissioner of Labour, Nellore (for short ‘the Commissioner’).
By the above-mentioned order, the Commissioner has awarded compensation of Rs.1,50,470/- in all for the death of one Sk.Kamal Saheb in the course of his employment. While doing so, the Commissioner has not awarded interest from the date of claim petition till the date of order. Feeling aggrieved by non-award of interest, the claimant before the Commissioner has filed this appeal.
Under Section 4A(3) of the Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923 (for short ‘the Act’) where any employer is due under the Act and he fails to pay the same, within one month from the date it fell due, the Commissioner shall direct the employer to pay simple interest thereon at the rate of 12% or at such higher rate not exceeding the maximum of the lending rates of any scheduled bank as may be specified by the Central Government by notification, on the amount due. The Commissioner has not assigned any reason for denying interest to the appellant.
Ms.G.Niveditha, learned counsel, representing Sri T.Venkata Ramana, learned counsel for the respondent, submitted that though the accident occurred in 1995, the appellant has filed the claim petition in the year 2001 and that therefore the respondent may not be saddled with the liability of interest.
Under the Act, limitation for filing claim petition for compensation is two years from the date of the accident. The appellant ought to have filed the claim petition in the year 1997. Instead, she has filed the claim petition in the year 2001. Therefore, I am of the opinion that there is no justification to award interest for the period 1997 to 2001. Accordingly, interest is denied for a period of four years from the date of the accident till the date of filing of claim petition. This means, the appellant is entitled to interest from 1995 to 1997 and from 2001 till the date of passing of the award.
The appeal is accordingly allowed to the extent indicated above.
C.V.NAGARJUNA REDDY, J 19th September, 2014
VGB