1 2025:CGHC:53524 NAFR HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH AT BILASPUR MAC No. 696 of 2021 1. Gotafakir @ Mandavi S/o Lt. Gota Mulla Aged About 43 Years Caste Muriya, Residing At Village- Cherpalli, Gram Panchayat Sendra, Post Office- Sendra, Tehsil Bhopalpatnam, District Bijapur, Chhattisgarh. 2. Smt. Gota Mali W/o Shri Gotafakir @ Mandavi Aged About 41 Years Caste Muriya, Residing At Village- Cherpalli, Gram Panchayat Sendra, Post Office- Sendra, Tehsil Bhopalpatnam, District Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, District : Bijapur, Chhattisgarh ... Appellants. Versus 1. M/s Shri Devam Drillers Address No. 83/7 First Floor, First Main K.P.N. Extension Bangalore, Karnataka. 2. The Oriental Insurance Company Limited Through Branch Manage, Branch Office Tiruchangod, Kumhar Complex First Floor, 146 West Car Street Tamilnadu- 637211 The Oriental Insurance Co. Limited Adress- Lakshman Avenue Medical College Road Jagdalpur, District Bastar, Chhattisgarh ... Respondent(s) For Appellant : Ms. Yamini Kaser, Adv on behalf of Mr. HAPS Bhatia, Advocate. For Res No.1 : None. For Res No.2/ Insurance Company : Ms. Swati Agrawal, Adv on behalf of Mr. Pankaj Agrawal, Advocate. Hon'ble Shri Justice Deepak Kumar Tiwari Judgment on Board 03/11/2025 1. With the consent of the parties, the matter is heard finally. Digitally signed by AJAY KUMAR DWIVEDI DN: cn=AJAY KUMAR DWIVEDI, ou=HIGH COURT, o=HIGH COURT OF CHHATTISGARH, st=Chhattisgarh, c=IN Date: 2025.11.04 10:28:59 +0530 2 2. This Appeal has been preferred under Section 30 of the Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923 (hereinafter “the Act, 1923”) by the claimants against the award dated 27.02.2021 passed by the Commissioner of Employees Compensation Act 1923, Labour Court, Bastar, Place Jagdalpur in Case No.62/2012/EC Act/ Fa. 3. After hearing learned counsel for the parties this appeal admitted for hearing on the following substantial question of law:- “Whether finding of the Commissioner for Employees’ Compensation directing for payment of interest @ of 12 % per annum conditionally by ignoring the mandatory provisions prescribed under clause (a) of sub-section 3 of Section 4-A of the Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923, is perverse?” 4. At the outset, learned counsel for the appellants submits that while passing the award/judgment dated 27.02.2021, learned Commissioner had imposed condition for grant of interest on the awarded sum that after the expiry of 45 days from the date of judgment, if the amount is not deposited by the Insurer, then simple interest @ 12 % per annum shall be reckoned. She submits that the aforesaid condition of the learned Commissioner while awarding the interest on the awarded sum is contrary to the law as per Section 4-A (3) of the Act, 1923, as the same has been explained in the matter of Pratap Narain Singh Deo vs. Srinivas Sabata {(1976) 1 SCC 289}, in a Four Judge Bench of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, wherein, it has been held that an employer becomes liable to pay compensation as soon as the personal injury is caused to the workman in the accident which arouse out of and in the course of employment. It was accordingly held that it is the date of 3 accident and not the date of adjudication of the claim, which is material and the same has been followed in the matter of North East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation vs. Sujatha {(2019) 11 SCC 514}. In view of such submission, she prays to allow the Appeal. 5. Learned counsel for Insurance Company/respondent No.2 would also not dispute the aforesaid legal proposition. 6. Section 4A of the Act, 1923 deals with the provisions with regard to the compensation to be paid when due and penalty for default. For the sake of brevity, the said Section reads thus: “4A. Compensation to be paid when due and penalty for default.- (1) Compensation under section 4 shall be paid as soon as it falls due. (2) In cases where the employer does not accept the liability for compensation to the extent claimed, he shall be bound to make provisional payment based on the extent of liability which he accepts, and, such payment shall be deposited with the Commissioner or made to the employee, as the case may be, without prejudice to the right of the employee to make any further claim. (3) Where any employer is in default in paying the compensation due under this Act within one month from the date it fell due, the Commissioner shall- (a) direct that the employer shall, in addition to the amount of the arrears, pay simple interest thereon at the rate of twelve per cent. per annum or at such higher, rate not exceeding the maximum of the lending rates of any scheduled bank as may be specified by the Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, on the amount due; and 4 (b) if, in his opinion, there is no justification for the delay, direct that the employer shall, in addition to the amount of the arrears and interest thereon, pay a further sum not exceeding fifty per cent. of such amount by way of penalty: Provided that an order for the payment of penalty shall not be passed under clause (b) without giving a reasonable opportunity to the employer to show cause why it should not be passed. Explanation.- For the purposes of this sub-section, "scheduled bank" means a bank for the time being included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. (2 of 1934) [(3A) The interest and the penalty payable under sub- section (3) shall be paid to the employee or his dependant, as the case may be.]” 7. From reading of the aforesaid provision, it is explicit that under Section 4 of the Act, the compensation shall be paid as soon as it falls due and the claimants shall be entitled to interest @ 12% per annum as per Section 4A(3)(a) within one month from the date it fell due. So, the liability to pay interest on the amount of compensation due and payable would be under Section 4-A(3)(a) that the employer shall pay, in addition to the amount of the arrears, simple interest thereon @ 12% per annum or at such higher rate not exceeding the maximum of the lending rates of any scheduled bank as may be specified on the amount due. 8. In view of the aforesaid legal provisions and in light of the judgment rendered by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of Pratap Narain Singh Deo (supra) and North East Karnataka Road Transport Corporation (supra), imposition of condition by the learned 5 Commissioner for grant of interest is in the teeth of law and the learned Commissioner could not have imposed such conditions while passing the judgment. So, this Court is of the opinion that interest @ 12% per annum shall be reckoned after the expiry of one month from the date of accident i.e. 20.12.2009 on the awarded sum of compensation to the tune of Rs.5,56,775/- which was directed to be deposited by the Insurer. 9. Accordingly, Respondent No.2/Insurer is directed to deposit the sum as awarded by the learned Commissioner along with interest, as per the revised calculation to be made pursuant to the direction given by this Court in the preceding paragraph of this judgment and the difference of the amount, if any, shall be paid within a period of 45 days from the date of this judgment. 10.Substantial question of law is answered in affirmative in favour of the appellants. 11.Accordingly, the present Appeal is allowed to the extend indicated above. 12.In facts and circumstances of the case, there shall be no order as to costs. Sd/- (Deepak Kumar Tiwari) Judge Ajay.