- (1.) The order dated June 29, 1999, passed by the Commissioner under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923 (hereinafter referred to as "the Act"), has been challenged in the present appeal.
(2.) Respondent No. 2 had filed a claim application by stating that her husband late Sh. Chhida Ram had been working with respondent-appellant as a Chowkidar at monthly wages of Rs. 2,000/-. It is claimed that he used to perform his duty 24 hours, as he had been asked to reside inside the factory premises. During the course of employment the workman suffered some heart problem on July 3/4, 1997 on account of being overworked. He was not looked after and consequently died at 9 a.m. on July 4, 1997. The matter was not reported anywhere nor the post-mortem was carried out. The body alongwith the luggage was sent to his native place. The claimant requested for the compensation which was declined. A notice dated September 18, 1997 was served upon the employer to which no response was received. The claimant filed a claim of Rs. 1,10,000/- as compensation alongwith interest and penalty.
(3.) The claim had been contested by the appellant. Apart from other pleas, the contest is vis-a-vis the maintainability. The stand is that the deceased was not a workman as he was never ever employed by the management as a Chowkidar in the factory. It is the claim of the management that the deceased had been employed as a Constable in Delhi Police. Sh. Garib Ram, one of the directors, had retired as Assistant Commissioner of Delhi Police. Since both of them belonged to the same village and were close to each other, Chhida Ram used to visit him in the factory off and on. The deceased retired from the police service somewhere in November, 1980 upon attaining the age of superannuation. The management has its own watch and ward staff, therefore, there was no need to have employed the deceased as a Chowkidar. It has also been averred that the deceased had died his natural death on July 4, 1997. It was out of generosity that the staff of the management took him at the instance of the aforesaid director and got him examined from the Doctor at Alwar, where the employees of the management used to get their treatment. Since the workman was never ever in the employment of the management, the question of paying any compensation does not arise.;