ASSISTANT ENGINEER Vs. SHRI RAM NIWAS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Challenge in this appeal is to the award dated 13th March, 1995, whereby the Commissioner, Workmen s Compensation Act, Alwar, decreed an amount of Rs. 24,000 in favour of the respondent and against the appellant.

(2.) Heard learned Counsel for the appellant and carefully perused the relevant material on record including the impugned award.

(3.) Learned Counsel for the appellant canvassed that the accident took place on 4.4.1992 wherein the claimant, being a helper, lost one phalanx of his right hand index finger. Such disablement falls under the category of permanent partial disablement and the injury occurs at entry No. 29 in Part II of Schedule I of the Act. The claimant at the time of the accident was 45 years of age, for which the relevant factor is 169.44 as per Schedule IV and his monthly income was more than Rs. 1,000. He further canvassed that Entry No. 29 of Part II of Schedule I of the Workmen Compensation Act fixes the loss of earning capacity at 9% for loss of one phalanx of either finger. He further canvassed that Section 4(1)(c)(i) of the Act provides that in case of an injury specified in Part II of Schedule I, such percentage of the compensation which would have been payable in case of permanent total disablement as is specified therein as being the percentage of the loss of earning capacity caused by that injury. He further canvassed that as per formula prescribed under section 4 (1)(c)(i) for computing the amount of compensation in case of permanent partial disablement, the amount of compensation comes to Rs. 50% x 1000 x 169.44 x 9%=Rs. 7,624.80, whereas the learned Commissioner awarded an amount of Rs. 24,000, which is abysmally high and thus, the amount of compensation needs to be reduced and the impugned award passed by the learned Commissioner deserves to be modified. He has placed reliance on two judgments reported in 2007 ACJ 2004 & 1996 ACJ 98.