$~18 * IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI + FAO 160/2017 BHIM SINGH .....Appellant Through: Mr. S.N. Parashar, Advocate versus M/S SOUTH HARYANA GOODS CARRIERS PVT LTD .....Respondent Through: Mr.Pankaj Seth, Advocate CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MANOJ KUMAR OHRI O R D E R % 23.07.2026 1. The present appeal is directed against the Award dated 29.12.2016 passed by the learned Commissioner under the Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923, (hereinafter as ‘the Act’) whereby the appellant was awarded compensation by assessing his loss of earning capacity at 30% on the basis of the disability certificate. 2. Briefly stated, the appellant was employed as a driver with respondent No.1. On 03.02.2009, while driving the vehicle in the course of his employment, he sustained grievous injuries in an accident arising out of and during the course of his employment. The appellant suffered severe injuries to his right eye and was subsequently treated at All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) from 13.02.2009 to 14.02.2009. The disability certificate issued by the said Institute records complete loss of vision in the right eye and assesses the visual handicap at 30%. 3. The claim petition was initially dismissed by the learned Commissioner as not maintainable. The said order came to be challenged before this Court. Vide order dated 09.08.2016, this Court set aside the order This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 30/07/2026 at 14:54:24 of dismissal and remanded the matter to the learned Commissioner for fresh adjudication. Pursuant thereto, the impugned Award dated 29.12.2016 came to be passed, holding that the appellant had sustained injuries arising out of and during the course of his employment and was, therefore, entitled to compensation under the Act. However, while computing the compensation, the learned Commissioner assessed the loss of earning capacity at 30%, corresponding to the percentage of disability reflected in the disability certificate. 4. Learned counsel for the appellant submits that the learned Commissioner committed an error in equating the percentage of medical disability with the loss of earning capacity. It is contended that the appellant was admittedly employed as a driver and, having suffered complete loss of vision in one eye, has become incapable of continuing his vocation as a commercial driver. Reliance is placed on the decisions of the Supreme Court in Pratap Narain Singh Deo v. Srinivas Sabata1, and of this Court in National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Chander Vir & Ors.2. 5. I have heard learned counsel for the parties and perused the record. 6. The disability certificate records that the appellant has suffered complete loss of vision in the right eye (PL Negative) and assesses the visual handicap at 30%. The learned Commissioner has proceeded on the premise that the percentage of visual disability ipso facto represents the percentage of loss of earning capacity. Such an approach is contrary to the settled legal position. 1 (1976) 1 SCC 289 2FAO 109/2004, decided on 22.11.2012. This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 30/07/2026 at 14:54:24 7. Under the Act, the relevant consideration is not merely the extent of physical disability but the resultant loss of earning capacity suffered by the workman in relation to the vocation which he was performing at the time of the accident. The object of the legislation is to compensate the workman for the diminution of his earning capacity occasioned by the employment injury. Consequently, the percentage of physical disability cannot invariably be equated with the percentage of loss of earning capacity. 8. In Pratap Narain (supra) the Supreme Court held that where, on account of the injury sustained, the workman becomes incapable of performing the work which he was engaged to perform, the disablement has to be treated as total for the purposes of the Act, notwithstanding that the physical disability may be assessed at a lower percentage. A Coordinate Bench of this Court in Chander Vir (supra) while dealing with a case of a driver who had suffered loss of vision in one eye, upheld the Commissioner's assessment of 100% loss of earning capacity despite the disability certificate assessing disability at a lower percentage. The Court held that the Commissioner is required to assess the actual loss of earning capacity with reference to the work performed by the injured employee and is not bound by the percentage of physical disability mentioned in the disability certificate. 9. In the present case, it is not disputed that the appellant was employed as a driver. Equally, the medical evidence demonstrates that he has completely lost vision in one eye. A person employed as a commercial driver necessarily requires full field of vision for the safe operation of heavy motor vehicles. Loss of vision in one eye substantially impairs the workman incapable of continuing the vocation of driving commercial vehicles. The This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 30/07/2026 at 14:54:24 injury, therefore, has resulted in total functional disablement insofar as the appellant's avocation is concerned. 10. In these circumstances, this Court is unable to agree with the learned Commissioner that the appellant has suffered only 30% loss of earning capacity. The Commissioner has failed to appreciate the distinction between medical disability and functional disability and has mechanically adopted the percentage mentioned in the disability certificate without examining its effect on the appellant's ability to continue in his chosen profession. 11. Having regard to the law laid down by the Supreme Court in Pratap Narain Singh (supra) and by this Court in Chander Vir (supra), this Court is of the considered opinion that the appellant has suffered 100% loss of earning capacity for the purposes of the Act. 12. Accordingly, the impugned Award is modified to the aforesaid extent. The learned Commissioner shall recompute the compensation by treating the appellant as having suffered 100% loss of earning capacity. The compensation so recomputed shall be deposited within a period of three weeks from today and shall thereafter be released to the appellant in accordance with law. 13. For the aforesaid purpose, list before the commissioner on 10.08.2026. The Registry shall communicate a copy of this order. 14. The appeal is allowed in the above terms. Pending application(s), if any, also stand disposed of. MANOJ KUMAR OHRI, J JULY 23, 2026 kb This is a digitally signed order. The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 30/07/2026 at 14:54:24