UNITED TECHNICAL CONSULTANTS PVT LTD Vs. SHANTI DEVI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This is a defendant's appeal arising out of a suit for payment of compensation in connection with the death of a workman while in the employment of the defendant appellant. The court below has, while partly allowing the claim made by the legal representatives of the deceased workman, held them entitled to a sum of Rs.2,99,520/- with interest @ 9% per annum w.e.f. January, 1987 till realization.

(2.) Late Sh. Mohru Lal was employed by the appellant company as a helper and dispatched to serve at one of its projects in Libya for a period of two years. The terms and conditions of his employment were incorporated in an agreement executed between the parties. While in Libya, Mohru Lal met with an accident on 23rd November, 1983 in the course of his employment resulting in grievous injuries to which he eventually succumbed on 5th June, 1984. His widow and minor children who happen to be the respondents in this appeal filed a suit for payment of a sum of Rs.6 lacs towards compensation for the death of the deceased . Their case in the plaint was that the deceased was at the time of the accident aged above 35 years and was earning Rs.4,000/- per month on an average towards salary including over time wages. An amount of Rs.6 lacs was on that basis claimed towards compensation.

(3.) In the written statement, the defendants alleged that the deceased had slipped his foot and fallen from a height of about 6 meters at the work site resulting in injuries to him for which he was treated in a hospital where he eventually died. The defendant further alleged that had the deceased observed all the safety precautions, the accident could have been avoided. According to the defendant, its employees of the defendant were covered under the Insurance and Health Scheme of the Libyan Government, including Mohru Lal " the deceased. Under the scheme, the legal representatives left behind by the deceased were entitled to a monthly pension from the Libyan Government. A case for payment of benefits under the scheme was, according to them, prepared but turned down on the ground that the families of the employee must be present in Libya in order to avail of any such relief. The defendant alleged that it had thereafter shown its readiness and willingness to tender compensation equivalent to that computed/determined under the Indian Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923. The plaintiffs however responded by filing a suit for damages in a sum of Rs.6,05,550/- as they were not agreeable to accept the offer made by the defendant. It was also alleged that the monthly wages of the deceased was about Rs.1,560/- and not Rs.4,000/- as alleged by the plaintiff. The appellant company alleged that it had paid Rs.550/- per month to the legal representatives of the deceased between July, 1984 to December, 1985 apart from transporting the body of the deceased from Libya to India at its expense. The allegation that the plaintiffs were helpless and indigent persons, unable to pay court fee was denied and the suit dubbed as frivolous hence liable to be dismissed.