Rajasthan High Court

Rajanti Devi W/O Shri Ramswaroop ... vs Gopal Lal Sharma S/O Shri Sitaram ... on 7 October, 2023

Bench: Narendra Singh Dhaddha

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        HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN
                    BENCH AT JAIPUR

             S.B. Civil Miscellaneous Appeal No. 567/2020

1.       Rajanti Devi W/o Shri Ramswaroop Bairwa, Aged About
         44 Years, R/o Village Bhagwanpura, Post Dumoda, Tehsil
         And District Sawaimadhopur.
2.       Ramswaroop S/o Late Shri Rampal, Aged About 46 Years,
         R/o Village Bhagwanpura, Post Dumoda, Tehsil And
         District Sawaimadhopur.
                                                       ----Appellants/Claimants
                                      Versus
1.       Gopal Lal Sharma S/o Shri Sitaram Sharma, R/o Village
         Sarangpura, Tehsil Sanganer, District Jaipur (Owner Of
         Tanker No. Rj-14-Gh-1367)
2.       United India Insurance Company Ltd., Through Manager,
         Regional     Office,     Shopping         Centre,         Ambabari,     Jaipur
         (Insurance Company Of Tanker No. Rj-14-Gh-1367)
                                                                     ----Respondents

For Appellant(s) : Mr. Santosh Kumar Soni, Adv. For Respondent(s) : Mr. Aditya Sharma, Adv. on behalf of Mr. Satish Kumar Khandal, Adv.

HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NARENDRA SINGH DHADDHA

Judgment

DATE OF JUDGMENT 07/10/2023

This Civil Misc. Appeal has been filed by the appellants-

claimants (for short 'the claimants') u/s 30 of Workmen's

Compensation Act, 1923 (for short, the Act of 1923) against the

judgment dated 01.01.2020 passed by learned Workmen

Compensation Commissioner, Jaipur (for short 'the learned

Commissioner') in claim case No. E.C.C.F.-107/2019 titled as

"Rajanti Devi & Anr. Vs. Gopal Lal Sharma & Anr.", whereby the

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learned Commissioner has awarded a sum of Rs.5,67,526/- with

interest @ 12% P.A. in favour of the claimants from 10.07.2016.

Learned counsel for the claimants submits that the learned

Commissioner has assessed the income of the deceased as

Rs.5,226/- per month which is at lower side. Learned counsel for

the claimants also submits that as per the Gazette Notification

dated 31.05.2010 of the Ministry of Labour and Employment,

minimum wages was Rs.8,000/- per month at the relevant point

of time. So, income of the deceased be calculated as Rs.8,000/-

per month. So, judgment dated 01.01.2020 passed by learned

Commissioner be modified.

At the outset, learned counsel for the Insurance Company

submits that no substantial question of law is involved in this

appeal. The appeal has been submitted on the findings of facts. In

support of his contentions, counsel for the Insurance Company has

placed reliance on the judgments delivered by the Hon'ble Apex

Court in the cases of Golla Rajanna Etc. vs. The Divisional

Manager And Anr. reported in 2017 (1) SCC 45 and North East

Karnatka Transport Corporation Vs. Smt. Sujatha reported in 2019

(11) SCC 514.

Heard counsel for the parties and perused the impugned

judgment including the documents available on the record.

In the considered opinion of this Court, the findings given by

the learned Commissioner are based on sound appreciation of

evidence and the same are not liable to be disturbed by this

Court.

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In the opinion of this Court also, the learned Commissioner is

the last authority on facts as it has been held by the Hon'ble

Supreme Court in the case of Golla Rajanna Etc. (supra):

"8. Section 30 of the Act provides for appeal to the High Court. To the extent, the provision reads as follows;

30. Appeals.-(1) An appeal shall lie to the High Court from the following orders of a Commissioner, namely:

(a) an order awarding as compensation a lumpsum whether by way of redemption of a half-monthly payment or otherwise or disallowing a claim in full or in part for a lump sum;[(aa) an order awarding interest or penalty Under Section 4A;]

(b) an order refusing to allow redemption of a half-monthly payment;

(c) an order providing for the distribution of compensation among the dependants of a deceased workman, or disallowing any claim of a person alleging himself to be such dependant;

(d) an order allowing or disallowing any claim for the amount of an indemnity under the provisions of Sub-section (2) of Section 12; or

(e) an order refusing to register a memorandum of agreement or registering the same or providing for the registration of the same subject to conditions:

Provided that no appeal shall lie against any order unless a substantial question of law is involved in the appeal and in the case of an order other than an order such as is referred to in Clause (b),unless the amount in dispute in the appeal is not less than three hundred rupees (Emphasis supplied)

10. Under the scheme of the Act, the workmen's Compensation Commissioner is the last authority on facts. The Parliament has thought it fit to restrict the scope of the appeal only to substantial question of law, being a welfare legislation. Unfortunately, the High Court has missed this crucial question of limited jurisdiction and has ventured to re-

appreciate the evidence and recorded its own findings on percentage of disability for which also there is no basis. The whole exercise made

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by the High Court is not within the competence of the High Court under Section 30 of the Act.

Similar view has been expressed by the Hon'ble Apex Court

in the case of North East Karnataka Transport Corporation (supra):

"9. At the outset, we may take note of the fact, being a settled principle, that the question as to whether the employee met with an accident, whether the accident occurred during the course of employment, whether it arose out of an employment, how and in what manner the accident occurred, who was negligent in causing the accident, whether there existed any relationship of employee and employer, what was the age and monthly salary of the employee, how many are the dependants of the deceased employee, the extent of disability caused to the employee due to injuries suffered in an accident, whether there was any insurance coverage obtained by the employer to cover the incident etc. are some of the material issues which arise for the just decision of the Commissioner in a claim petition when an employee suffers any bodily injury or dies during the course of his employment and he/his LRs sue(s) his employer to claim compensation under the Act.

10. The aforementioned questions are essentially the questions of fact and, therefore, they are required to be proved with the aid of evidence. Once they are proved either way, the findings recorded thereon are regarded as the findings of fact.

11. The appeal provided under Section 30 of the Act to the High Court against the order of the Commissioner lies only against the specific orders set out in clauses (a) to (e) of Section 30 of the Act with a further rider contained in the first proviso to the section that the appeal must involve substantial questions of law.

12. In other words, the appeal provided under Section 30 of the Act to the High Court against the order of the Commissioner is not like a regular first appeal akin to Section 96 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 which can he heard both on facts and law. The appellate

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jurisdiction of the High Court to decide the appeal is confined only to examine the substantial questions of law arising in the case.

In "M/s Krishna Weaving Mills, Ajmer Vs. Smt. Chandra

Bhaga Devi wide of Mool Chand & Anr.", reported in 1985(1) WLN

455, this Court while dealing with Workmen's Compensation Act

has laid down law that unless there is as question of public

importance and there is no final interpretation available while the

substantial question of law is arising, the appeal under the

Workmen's Compensation Act cannot been entertained. Relevant

portion of the judgment reads as follows:-

"8. Moreover, under S. 30 of the Workmen Compensation Act only substantial question of law can be agitated. In the present case, I am convinced that there is no substantial question of law involved.

9. The question of public importance and question on which no final interpretation is available are known as substantial question of law. Even if this definition is further extended, it will have to bear in mind that there is vast difference between the question of law and substantial question of law. It is only when the question of law is not well settled and it is of importance, it would become a substantial questions of law."

It is the settled position of law that limited jurisdiction has

been given to the High Court confined to the substantial question

of law only and the High Court cannot venture and re-appreciate

the evidence and finding of fact recorded on the evidence led by

both the parties.

This Court find no good ground to call for any interference on

any of the factual findings. None of the factual findings are found

to be either perverse or arbitrary or based on no evidence or

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against any provision of law. This Court accordingly upholds these

findings.

Since the appeal is not qualifying to have a substantial