THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE S.VAIDYANATHAN Civil Miscellaneous Appeal No.2826 of 2019 A.Assainar V.Yusuf … Appellants/Respondents -vs- Veeramuthu Rep. by his wife Mallika Therku Theru, Vaithiya Goundanurpudur Post and Village, Athur Taluk, Salem District. …Since there is no representation on behalf of the respondent herein, this Court appointed Mr.K.M.Ramesh, learned counsel as Amicus Curiae to assist this Court to dispose of this appeal. This Court places on record its deep appreciation to Mr.K.M.Ramesh, Amicus Curiae for his able guidance rendered to this Court for giving quietus to the issue. No costs. 10.12.2019 6/6
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
DATED: 10.12.2019
CORAM:
THE HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE S.VAIDYANATHAN
Civil Miscellaneous Appeal No.2826 of 2019
A.Assainar
V.Yusuf … Appellants/Respondents
-vs-
Veeramuthu
Rep. by his wife
Mallika
Therku Theru,
Vaithiya Goundanurpudur Post and Village,
Athur Taluk, Salem District. … Respondent/Petitioner
PRAYER: Appeal is filed under Section 30 of the Workmen Compensation Act to set aside
the order dated 27.02.2019 made in W.C.No.252 of 2013 on the file of the Deputy
Commissioner of Labour, District Collectorate Building 4
th Floor (Salem Region), Salem,
Tamil Nadu and allow this Civil Miscellaneous Appeal.
For Appellants : Mr.N.Thiyagarajan, Senior Counsel
For Mr.R.Lakshminarayanan
For Respondent : No Appearance
Amicus Curiae : Mr.K.M.Ramesh
O R D E R
This Appeal has been filed to set aside the order dated 27.02.2019 made in
W.C.No.252 of 2013 on the file of the Deputy Commissioner of Labour, Salem.
For the sake of brevity, the parties would be referred to as per their
nomenclature in W.C.No.252 of 2013 filed before the Authority.
The sum and substance of the issue on hand is that the applicant was an employee
under the respondents before the Workmen Compensation Authority / the appellants herein
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towards medical expenses, totalling Rs.5,07,078/-. In the light of amendment to the
Employee’s Compensation Act, the actual medical expenditure incurred by the injured
employee for treatment of injuries caused during course of employment need to be
reimbursed and the documents to be produced before the Authority concerned.
The Appellants herein have preferred the present appeal by depositing the total
sum of Rs.5,07,078/- (Rs.4,85,023/- + Rs.22,055/-) before the Authority, without
calculating the interest payable from the date it became due and it is the duty cast upon
the employer to deposit the amount awarded together with 12% interest, within a period of
30 days from the date of Award. In fact, the present appeal itself ought not to have been
entertained and it should have been dismissed in limine on account of the fact that it is a
condition precedent that the entire amount has got to be deposited together with interest
and in the present case on hand, no interest portion has been deposited at all.
Taking note of the fact that the Authority has rendered a finding based on the
fact, this Court is of the view that there is no substantial question of law involved in this
matter to answer the issue in favour of the Appellants herein and therefore, this Court is
not inclined to interfere with the order of the Authority, namely, the Deputy Commissioner
of Labour, Salem.
Accordingly, the present Civil Miscellaneous Appeal is dismissed. The Authority
shall disburse the amount already deposited to the applicant / respondent herein within a
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period of 30 days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, since the amount has
been deposited by means of Demand Draft No.005532 dated 09.04.2019. The interest
amount payable to the applicant, namely, 12% from the date of accident till the same is
deposited before the Authority, shall be deposited before the Authority within a period of
one month from the date of receipt of a copy of this order and on such deposit, the
applicant / respondent herein is entitled to withdraw the said amount. It is made clear
that the Authority shall not withhold the amount already deposited on the ground that the
Appellants have not deposited the interest portion.
Since there is no representation on behalf of the respondent herein, this Court
appointed Mr.K.M.Ramesh, learned counsel as Amicus Curiae to assist this Court to dispose
of this appeal. This Court places on record its deep appreciation to Mr.K.M.Ramesh, Amicus
Curiae for his able guidance rendered to this Court for giving quietus to the issue. No costs.
10.12.2019
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