Row Nayudu, J. - (1.) This appeal is directed against the judgment and Order of the Employees Insurance Court, Hyderabad dated 3-11-1958 in Case No. 12 of 1957 on the ma of the said Court, allowing a claim for Rs. 4,802-8-0 being the arrears of Employees contribution payable by the present appellant to the Employees State Insurance Corporation, Hyderabad, on account of the accident which occurred on 27-6-1956 in which one Sri Gowla Mallayya, an employee of the employment sustained injuries and death.
(2.) Two points have been urged before me by Mr. B. C. Jain, the learned counsel for the appellant in support of the appeal viz., (1) that there was no negligence on the part of the appellant, and that the accident in question did not result by reason of the appellants negligence to observe any of the safety rules laid down or any enactment applicable to a factory or establishment, or by reason of any wrongful act of the employer or his agent, so as la tender the application of Section 66 of the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948, making the appellant liable to the Employment State Insurance Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the Corporation) to reimburse the Corporation, the contributions paid by them under the Act; (2) that the accident in question did not arise out of and in the course of the employment of the deceased victim, and therefore, there was no employment injury as such which would render the application of Section 66 of the Act possible. 3. Before I deal with the above contentions, it is necessary to refer to the relevant provisions of Employees State Insurance Act, Section 2(8) of that Act defines the expression "employment injury" in the following terms: "Employment injury" means a personal injury to an employee caused by accident or an occupational disease arising out of and in the course of his employment in a factory or establishment to which this Act applies, which injury or occupational disease would entitle such employee to compensation under the Workmens Compensation Act, 1923 (VIII of 1923) if he were a workman within ths meaning of the said Act." It is necessary, therefore, to refer to the corresponding provisions in the Workmens Compensation Act in Order to appreciate the scope of the definition in the Employees State Insurance Act. Under the Workmens Compensation Act, Section 3(1) is as follows:
(3.) "Employers liability for compensation: (1) If personal injury is caused to a workman by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment, his employer shall be liable to pay compensation in accordance with the provisions of this Chapter." It is interesting to note that same expressions occur both in Section 2(8) of the Employees State Insurance Act as well as the corresponding provision in the Workmens Compensation Act namely, that the accident Should arise out of and in the course of the employment of the victim. Reference need also be made to Section 24 of the Factories Act. This Section is as follows: 24(1) "In every factory- (a) suitable striking gear or other efficient machanical appliance shall be provided and maintained and used to move driving belts to and from fast and loose pulleys which form part of the transmission machinery, and such gear or appliances shall be so constructed, placed and aintained as to prevent the belt from creeping back on to the fast pulley." Reference may be made also to Section 66 of the Employees State Insurance Act which is as follows: 66(1) "Where any employment injury is sustained by an insured person as an employee under this Act by reason of the negligence of the employer to observe any of the safety rules laid down by or under any enactment applicable to a factory or establishment or by reason of any wrongful act of the employer or his agent, the corporation shall notwithstanding the fact that the employer has paid the weekly contribution due under this Act in respect of such insured person, be entitled to be reimbursed by the employer or the principal who is liable to pay compensation under Section 12 of the Workmens Compensation Act, 1923 (VIII of 1923) the actuarial present value of the periodical payments which the Corporation is liable to make under this Act:" The facts out of which this appeal has arisen may be briefly noticed: The appellant is a company running an oil mill in Hyderabad, known as the Jayanthilal Dhanji and Company Oil Mills. In their employment was one Gowla Mallayya, an unskilled worker, whose duty was to feed the oil mill by pouring groundnut seeds into the crushing machine. This crushing machine is worked apparently by a belt, moved by the power driven shaft, the belt being mounted on to a pulley fixed to it as usual. On 2/-6-1956 the date of the incident with which we are concerned in this case and sometime before the accident the stock of groundnut seeds supplied to Gowla Mallaiah was finished and the crushing machine had therefore to keep moving without being fed by any seeds. Hence arose the question of stopping the crushing machine, which continued naturally to run along with the general machinery operating on the premises. The mechanic and fitter whose duty it was to take necessary action to disconnect the crushing machine from the rest of the moving machinery so that it may stop, was absent from the premises, it is not necessary to notice the cause for his absence, although it was stated that he had gone home to help himself to a drink of water. This Gowla Mallaiah, finding that the crushing machine was running unnecessarily with the possible consequence of serious damage to it, went down from the place where he was working, to shift the belt off the moving pulley connected to the crushing machine, and as the factory did not contain the necessary equipment by way of a fast and loose pulley arrangement in Order to safely facilitate such disconnection, the said Gowla Mallaiah tried to kick the belt of the moving pulley, so that it may slip and get lose and the crushing machine may thus be stopped. In doing so, by accident, his leg got caught between the pulley and the belt and he was pulled up to a height of about six feet from where he fell down and died instantaneously.;