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REPORTABLE

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA

CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION

CIVIL APPEAL NO. 8 OF 2014 [Arising out of Special Leave Petition (Civil)  

No.8569 of 2013]

SABERABIBI YAKUBBHAI SHAIKH  & ORS. ...APPELLANTS

VERSUS

NATIONAL INSURANCE CO. LTD.  & ORS. ...RESPONDENTS

ORDER  

1. Delay condoned.

2. Leave granted.   

3. The appellants are the wife and the relatives  

of deceased driver who died in a road accident. The  

deceased driver was driving a truck bearing No. GJ-

17-T-8607, which was owned by Yunusbhai Gulambhai  

Shaikh, respondent No.2 herein.  The deceased was  

36 years of age at the time of the accident.  On  

20th November, 1996, the appellants raised a claim  

of compensation for a sum of Rs.2,15,280/- and 12%  

interest  therein  from  the  date  of  accident  by  

filing  a  claim  application  before  the  Workmen  

Compensation  Commissioner/Labour  Court.   After  

passage  of  more  than  16  years,  the  wife  and  

children  of  the  deceased  driver  had  still  not  

received any compensation.

...2/-

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4. The  appellants  filed  a  compensation  

application  before  the  Workmen  Compensation  

Commissioner/Labour Court on 20th November, 1996.  

The appellants made a claim of Rs.2,15,280/- and  

also penalty to the tune of 50% of the compensation  

i.e. a sum of Rs.1,07,640/-, thus, making the grand  

total  of  Rs.3,22,920/-.  Respondent  No.1-  the  

Insurance  Company,  contested  the  compensation  

application.  On 23th December, 2010, the learned  

Commissioner  awarded  compensation  on  account  of  

death in the sum of Rs.2,13,570/- with 12% interest  

from the date of accident. The learned Commissioner  

also awarded Rs.1,06,785/- as penalty.

5. Aggrieved and dissatisfied with the aforesaid  

judgment  and  award  passed  by  the  learned  

Commissioner,  the  Insurance  Company  filed  First  

Appeal before the High Court.  

6. By  judgment  and  order,  dated  24th January,  

2012, the High Court has partly allowed the First  

Appeal.  The High Court directed the respondent  

No.1 - Insurance Company to pay interest on the  

amount   of   compensation   from   the   date   of  

...3/-

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adjudication  of  claim  application  i.e.  23th  

December, 2010 and not from one month after from  

the date of accident i.e. 21st August, 1996.  A  

further direction was issued that the excess amount  

towards  interest,  if  any,  deposited  by  the  

respondent No.1 – Insurance Company be refunded to  

it.  The judgment and order of the Commissioner for  

Workmen Compensation was modified to that extent.  

7. In  coming  to  the  aforesaid  conclusion,  the  

High  Court relied upon the judgment of this Court  

reported  in  Uttar  Pradesh  State  Road  Transport  

Corporation now Uttarakhand Transport Corporation  

versus Satnam Singh, (2011) 14 SCC 758, wherein it  

has been held that the interest was payable under  

the Workmen Compensation Act from the date of the  

Award and not from the date of accident.   

8. Aggrieved by the aforesaid judgment of the Hgh  

Court,  the  appellants  have  filed  the  present  

appeal.  

...4/-

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9. Learned  counsel  for  the  appellants  has  

submitted that the aforesaid judgment of the High  

Court is contrary to the law laid down by this  

Court in the case of  Oriental Insurance Company  

Limited  versus  Siby George and others [(2012) 12  

SCC 540].

10. We have perused the aforesaid judgment.  We  

are of the considered opinion that the aforesaid  

judgment relied upon by the learned counsel for the  

appellants is fully applicable to the facts and  

circumstances of this case.  This Court considered  

the earlier judgment relied upon by the High Court  

and  observed  that  the  judgments  in  the  case  of  

National  Insurance  Co.  Ltd.  v.  Mubasir  Ahmed  

[(2007) 2 SCC 349] and Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd.  

v. Mohd.  Nasir [(2009)  6  SCC  280]  were  per  

incuriam  having been rendered without considering  

the earlier decision  in  Pratap Narain Singh Deo  

v.  Srinivas Sabata [(1976) 1 SCC 289].  In the  

aforesaid  judgment,  upon  consideration  of  the  

entire matter, a four-judge Bench of this Court had  

held that the compensation has to be paid from the  

date of the accident.   

...5/-

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11. Following the aforesaid judgments, this Court  

in  Oriental Insurance Company Limited versus Siby  

George  and  others (supra)  reiterated  the  legal  

position and held as follows:

“11. The Court then referred to a Full  Bench decision of the Kerala High Court  in  United India  Insurance Co.  Ltd. v.  Alavi  and  approved  it  insofar  as  it  followed the decision in Pratap Narain  Singh Deo.

12. The  decision  in   Pratap  Narain  Singh Deo was by a four-judge Bench and  in Valsala K. by a three-judge Bench of  this  Court.  Both the  decisions were,  thus,  fully  binding  on  the  Court  in  Mubasir Ahmed and Mohd. Nasir, each of  which was heard by two Judges.  But the  earlier  decisions  in   Pratap  Narain  Singh  Deo  and  Valsala  K.  were  not  brought to the notice of the Court in  the two later decisions in Mubasir Ahmed  and Mohd. Nasir.

13. In the light of the decisions in  Pratap Narain Singh Deo and Valsala K.,  it  is  not  open  to  contend  that  the  payment of compensation would fall due  only after the Commissioner's order or  with reference to the date on which the  claim  application  is  made.   The  decisions  in  Mubasir  Ahmed  and  Mohd.  Nasir  insofar as  they took  a contrary  view to the earlier decisions in  Pratap  Narain Singh Deo and Valsala K. do not  express the correct view and do not make  binding precedents.”

...6/-

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12. In view of the aforesaid settled proposition  

of law, the appeal is allowed and the judgment and  

order  of  the  High  Court  is  set  aside.   The  

appellants shall be entitled to interest at the  

rate of 12% from the date of the accident.  

13. No cost.

....................,J. (SURINDER SINGH NIJJAR)

...............................,J. (FAKKIR MOHAMED IBRAHIM KALIFULLA)

NEW DELHI JANUARY 02, 2014