CHIEF ENGINEER Vs. NAZIR AHMAD TANGA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Appellants call in question the award dated 28.06.2007, whereby the Commissioner under Workmen's Compensation Act arrayed as Respondent No. 2 in the appeal has held the Respondent No. 1 entitled to receive a compensation of Rs. 4,44,852/- on account of injuries/disability suffered during the course of his employment. The appeal has been filed against the following factual backdrop.

(2.) The Respondent No. 1 is an employee of Power Development Department (PDD) and posted as Lineman at Dooru. The Respondent No. 1 on 24.12.2005 while repairing electric transformer at Dooru received electric shock and sustained injuries on his left leg. A first information report of the occurrence was registered on 24.12.2005 itself at local police station. The Respondent No. 1 was shifted by his colleagues to SKIMS where he was hospitalized and operated upon. The Respondent No. 1 after getting discharged from the hospital filed a claim petition on 24.06.2006 under Workmen's Compensation Act before the Commissioner under the Act/Assistant Labour Commissioner, Anantnag.

(3.) The Appellant in his objections to the claim petition admitted that the Respondent No. 1 was an employee of the department but sought to wriggle out of responsibility to pay any compensation on the ground that the Respondent No. 1 was not posted at the place of occurrence and thus the Appellant had not sustained injuries during the course of his employment. In other words the Appellants case before the Commissioner under the Act was that the Respondent No. 1 had on his own gone to a place to repair a transformer, which fell beyond his area /jurisdiction and thus was guilty of negligence. The Commissioner under the Act, having regard to the rival contentions of the parties settled following three issues: