HIRKANBAI W/O. PANDURANG GAMBHIRE Vs. CO

JUDGEMENT

(1.) By his judgment and order dated 29th April, 1987 the learned Civil Judge, Senior Division and ex-Officio Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation, Latur allowed the Appellant's application and directed the Respondent to pay Rs. 9,000.00 as the compensation for the death of Pandurang Limbaji Gambhire and to further pay Rs. 4,500.00 by way of penalty to the Appellant, widow of the deceased, with 6% p.a. interest on the said amount from the date of the Application till realisation. The learned Commissioner has computed the compensation on the basis of the monthly wages of the deceased between the bracket of Rs. 200.00 and 300.00. The Appellant was aggrieved by the said order and filed the present first Appeal before this Court under Section-30 of the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923. There is no other point involved in the present appeal. I do not find any substance in the contention of Shri Joshi that the compensation should have been computed on the next slab of the wages i.e. Rs. 300.00 to 400.00. In the Schedule IV of the Act the compensation payable to the concerned workman or the legal heirs/applicants it is made very clear that the slab begins with the minimum by the following words:

(2.) In the present case the wages of the deceased workman were not more than Rs. 300.00 and, therefore, according to me the Commissioner has rightly computed the amount of compensation on the basis of the wages which the deceased was getting, which were not more than Rs. 300.00. The deceased was not getting wages more than Rs. 300.00 but he was getting Rs. 300.00 which cannot be called more than Rs. 300.00. I do not find any illegality or infirmity in the judgment and order of the learned Commissioner in accepting the wages of the deceased as Rs. 300.00 and computing the amount of compensation on that basis. The Appeal is, therefore, dismissed. No orders as to costs. Appeal dismissed.