LAWS(GJH)-1990-11-15

NATWARSINH A CHAUHAN Vs. NIRANJANBHAI K SHAH

Decided On November 19, 1990
Natwarsinh A Chauhan Appellant
V/S
Niranjanbhai K Shah Respondents

JUDGEMENT

(1.) In this appeal under Sec. 30 of the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923 (hereinafter "Act" for short), the appellant assailed the judgment and award passed by the learned Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation ("Commissioner" for short, hereinafter), at Bhavnagar, on 10-8-1982, in an application for compensation being Workmen Compensation Application No. 10 of 1982. Various interesting points are raised and a multiprolonged attack is also made against the claim of compensation. Therefore, the appeal was heard at a marathon length. Since various significant points are raised and with a view to appreciate the merits of the present appeal and challenge against it, it would be pertinent at this juncture to set out relevant and material facts.

(2.) The present appellant is the original claimant who preferred an application for compensation for personal injuries sustained by him, under Sec. 3 of the Act. The claimant made the application for compensation of Rs. 3,528/- under Sec. 3 of the Act and Rs. 1,746.00 by way of penalty under Sec. 4A(3) of the Act with interest and cost against the present respondent, who is the original opponent-employer. Thus, the present appellant is a workman and the present respondent is an employer, who are hereinafter referred to as the "workman" and "employer" for the sake of convenience and brevity.

(3.) According to the case of the workman, he was working with Laxmi Textiles, at the relevant point of time. The workman sustained personal injuries in an accident arising out of and in the course of his employment with the employer on 3-12-1982. On the day of the incident, the workman had gone for work at the place of employer in the morning. He performed his duty in the factory of the employer. The employer was running a textile unit, at Bhavnagar. The workman was doing miscellaneous work in the said textile unit of the employer. On the day of the incident, as per the case of the workman, when he was on duty, under the instruction of his master, he had proceeded to mount belt on a water-pump (bring) and while doing so another employee in the factory, one Pravindbhai all of a sudden, switched on the motor. Consequently, the motor started and when the workman was mounting the belt, his left hand was injured and his index finger was caught and got entangled in the pully and it was crushed. Subsequently, the said co-worker, Pravinbhai, took the workman, immediately, to Government Civil Sir T. Hospital, at Bhavnagar for treatment. The workman was examined and treated in the said Hospital, at Bhavnagar. Thereafter he was discharged on the same day. However, there was no improvement in the injury. The workman was again admitted in the Hospits on 11-12-1981. He remained as an indoor patient upto 13-2-1982 in the Hospital and during that period his left hand index finger was operated upon. According to the further case of the workman, on account of the said accident, two phalanges of his left hand index finger have become completely useless and he sustained permanent partial disablement to the extent of 14%. Thus, according to the case of the workman, he sustained injuries and resultant permanent partial disablement on account of the accident arising out of and in the course of the employment with opponent-employer. The workman had served the employer with a notice. The claim made in the notice was not complied. Therefore, the workman preferred an application for compensation under Sec. 3 of the Act and claimed an amount of Rs. 5292/- with interest at the rate of 6 per cent per annum from the opponent-employer. That application was preferred on 4-3-1982.