Kanta Devi and Others vs Kuber Dutt and Another

Deepak Gupta, J.—The only dispute in this case is whether the Commissioner Workmen''s Compensation could have directed that in case the Insurance Company deposits the amount within 60 days of the order it will not be liable to pay interest under the provisions of the Workmen''s Compensation Act.

An employer is required to pay the amount due under the Act within one month of the accident and the amount falls due immediately thereafter. The Insurance Company steps into the shoes of the employer and therefore, when an award is passed, it is but obvious, that interest must be ordered to be paid from a date, one month following the date of the accident. In exceptional cases where the claimant has delayed the matter or where the proceedings have been delayed due to fault of the claimant the Commissioner may be justified in awarding interest from a later date but in case the claim petition is filed within a reasonable period and compensation is awarded in favour of the claimant, interest should follow as a matter of course.

In the present case, the accident in question occurred on 23.8.2001. The petition was filed on 24.1.2002 and decided on 27.5.2004. Therefore, this was a case where interest should have been awarded to the claimant from 24.9.2001 i.e. one month after the date of the accident.

In view of the above discussion, the award of the learned Commissioner is modified to the extent that the claimant shall be entitled to interest on the amount of compensation awarded @ 12% per annum w.e.f. 24.9.2001 till date of payment/deposit of the amount. The Insurance Company is directed to deposit the amount of interest before the Workmen''s Compensation Commissioner or in the Registry of this Court on or before 28th February, 2011.