TIRUPPUR TEXTILES (P) LTD Vs. E.S.I.

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner is the appellant. This is an appeal against the order passed by the learned District Judge, Coimbatore, constituting the Employees State Insurance Court, dismissing the petition filed by the appellant Under Section 75 of the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 hereinafter referred to as the Act.

(2.) THE appellant herein filed the petition Under Section 75 of the Act for the relief of declaration that the order of the first respondent/Employees' State Insurance Corporation by its Regional Director, Madras, dated 30-10-1985 is arbitrary, illegal and unjustified and for declaring that the third respondent R. Shanmugam is an employee entitled to permanent disablement benefit from the Employees' State Insurance Corporation and for a direction to the first respondent to provide such permanent disablement benefit to Shanmugham and for costs. According to the appellant/petitioner the Tiruppur Textiles (P) Ltd., Tiruppur, employs about 1000 workmen and all the employees are covered under the Employees' State Insurance Scheme and the third respondent R. Shanmugham is also an employee in the mills covered under the E.S.I. Scheme and he has been paying contributions regularly and the petitioner has also contributed the employers contribution. The third respondent Shanmugam is an employee in the Preparatory Department as a Doffing Boy bearing Ticket No. 260. On 7-1-1985 Shanmugam was attending to the work in the day shift that commenced at 7.00 A.M., and ending with 3.30 p.m. While he was working the combing machine he was removing the cotton would on the back bottom detaching roller and while picking the lap he got his fingers in his left hand except the thumb caught in between the detaching roller and the combing cylinder. As a result of this all his four fingers except the thumb in his left hand were crushed and later surgically removed. He was immediately rushed to the Government Hospital at Tirupur and the petitioner assisted and admitted him for treatment. Shanmugam is covered under the E.S.I. Scheme with insurance No. 51-1789235. After taking treatment at the Government Hospital, Tirupur, Shanmugam went to the E.S.I. Hospital and was provided only with medical and sickness benefit, but he was declined by the first respondent the permanent benefit on the ground that he was not an employee within Section 2(9) of the Act since he was drawing wages exceeding Rs. 1,000/- on the date of accident on account of the gradual increase in the Dearness Allowance due to rise in cost of living As the first respondent declined to provide the disablement benefit, the said Shanmugam filed an application before the Additional Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation, Coimbatore in W.C. No. 55 of 1985 against the petitioner claiming a sum of Rs. 55,224.24 as compensation and the same is pending enquiry.

(3.) THE petitioner sent an accident report on 8-1-1985 and also wrote a letter in detail setting out the entire facts mentioned in the letter dated 27-9-1985, requesting the first respondent to extend to the injured Shanmugum the permanent disablement benefit, but the first respondent by their letter dated 30-10 1985 negatived the claim of the petitioner in respect of the said Shanmugam on the sole ground that the salary drawn by Shanmugam on the date of accident was about Rs. 1,000/- per mensem, though legally he is entitled to the permanent disablement benefit. Hence the petitioner has filed the petition contending that the order of the first respondent is against law and has also sought the declaration as prayed for in the petition.