SHABANA BANU Vs. K S SURESH KUMAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard the learned Counsel for the parties finally in respect of the appeal preferred by the claimants, aggrieved by the dismissal of the claim application by the Workmen's Compensation Commissioner by the order dated 3rd June, 2008.

(2.) Submission of the learned Counsel Mr. Mahesh R. Uppin for the appellants is that this Court on an earlier occasion had remanded the matter to the Workmen's Compensation Commissioner, while disposing of M.F.A. No. 6713 of 2002, on 26th June, 2007 and in the course of remand order, the Commissioner was directed to afford opportunity to the parties in order to ascertain as to whether the death of deceased was on account of injury sustained in the accident. Following the said remand order, the parties appeared before the Workmen's Compensation Commissioner and the claimants took out summons to the doctor to speak about the post-mortem report, but the doctor did not turn up and, secondly, the Commissioner dismissed the claim application once again only on the ground that the claimants had failed to examine the doctor to prove that the death of deceased was on account of injury sustained in the accident. Therefore, submission made is that the Commissioner ought to have exercised power conferred by Section 23 of the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923 which gives the Commissioner power to compel attendance of a witness.

(3.) Having regard to the above submission made and page 3 of the impugned order of the Commissioner also stating that claimants were asked to examine the doctor but the doctor was not examined and, therefore, the claimants had failed to establish the nexus between the accident and death, in my view, the Commissioner lost sight of power conferred on him by Section 23 of the W.C. Act. The said section reads as under: