FRONT PAGE YOU MAKE IT.

IT WILL BE BEFORE HON’BLE SUPREME COURT OF

INDIA
UNDER ART. 32 OF HE CONSTITUTION

YOUR COLOUR IS RED

THE ACTUAL CASE WAS IN FAVOUR OF THE APPELLANTS. I.E THE INSURANCE COMPANY.
BUT WE HAVE TO SAY AND PROVE IT ON BEHALF OF RESPONDENTS I.E PREMI DEVI .

WE HAVE TO SAY THAT THE INSURANCE COMPANY HAS TO PAY THE INTEREST AS WELL
AND THE SAME SHOULD BE OUR PRAYER TO THE COURT.
 Table of Contents

SR.NO PARTICULARS PAGE NO

1 List of Abbreviiations

2 Index of Authorities

3 Statement of Jurisdiction

4 Statement of Facts

5 Statement of Issues

6 Summary of arguments

7 Arguments Advanced

8 Prayer
 List of Abbreviations

Abbreviation Abbreviated Word

Hon’ble Honourable

HC High Court

Vs. Versus

& And

i.e That is

Art. Article

Sec. Section

SC Supreme Court
 Index of Authorities

Statutes:

1. Motor Vehicles Act, 1988

2. Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923
 Statement of Jurisdiction

The Respondent humbly submits that this Hon’ble Court has jurisdiction to entertain the
present Writ Petition under Article 32 of Indian Constitution.
 Statement of Facts

1. The owner of a motor truck, had entrusted the said trust for driving to one Pritam Singh and
had employed one Hem Raj to be a cleaner attached to the said truck. The said truck met with
an accident on 15th February 1992 near Village Pulwahai on Kumarsain Dhamla Road in the
State of Himachal Pradesh. In the said accident driver Pritam Singh and cleaner Hem Raj died
on spot.

2. The owner of the truck, having come to know about the accident on 16th February 1992 he
immediately informed the Branch Manager insurance company about the accident. The
insurance company had insured the appellant comprehensively against all the risks arising
out of the use of the said motor vehicle.

3. The heirs and legal representatives of deceased driver and cleaner filed petition under the
Compensation Act before the Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation, Rajgarh
district, Sirmur, Himachal Pradesh.

4. The Workmen's Commissioner after hearing the parties concerned computed the
compensation available to the claimant-dependents of the deceased employees.

5. The deceased driver was concerned the Commissioner awarded a sum of Rs. 88,968/- as
compensation. But as the compensation due was not paid either by the appellant-employer
or by the insurance company as and when it fell due the Commissioner awarded a penalty
of Rs. 41,984/- with interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of the accident till
the date of payment.

6. Similarly the Commissioner awarded a sum of Rs. 88,548/- to the claimants being legal
representatives of the deceased cleaner. In addition to the said amount, penalty of Rs.
44,274/- with interest from the date of the accident till the date of payment was also made
payable by respondent no.9-insurance company.

7. The claimants were satisfied with the said awards. Similarly the appellant-owner was also
satisfied with the said awards. However, the insurance company carried the matter in
appeals before the High Court and contended that the insurance company would be liable
under the contract of insurance only to make good the claims for compensation so far as the
principal amounts were concerned.

8. It could not have been made liable to pay the amounts of penalties with interest thereon as
ordered by the Workmen's Commissioner as these amounts of penal nature were awarded
against the insured owner on account of his personal default.

9. The amounts deposited in excess by the insurance company were ordered to be refunded to
it while the remaining amounts were ordered to be paid to the claimants. it was, however,
clarified that the claimants shall be at liberty to recover the amount of penalty and interest
in accordance with law from the employer, appellant herein.
 Statement of Issues

1. Where an employee receives a personal injury in a motor accident arising out of and in the
motor vehicle of the employer, whether the insurance company, which has insured the employer-
owner of the vehicle against third party accident claims under Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (hereinafter
referred to as 'the Motor Vehicles Act') and against claims for compensation arising out of
proceedings under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923 (hereinafter referred to as 'the
Compensation Act') in connection with such motor accidents, is liable to meet the awards of
Workmen's Commissioner imposing penalty and interest against the insured employer under
Section 4A(3) of the Compensation Act.
 Summary of Arguments

1. Where an employee receives a personal injury in a motor accident arising out of and in the
motor vehicle of the employer, whether the insurance company, which has insured the employer-
owner of the vehicle against third party accident claims under Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (hereinafter
referred to as 'the Motor Vehicles Act') and against claims for compensation arising out of
proceedings under the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923 (hereinafter referred to as 'the
Compensation Act') in connection with such motor accidents, is liable to meet the awards of
Workmen's Commissioner imposing penalty and interest against the insured employer under
Section 4A(3) of the Compensation Act.

In the case of Ved Prakash Garg vs. Kumari Devi, the Respondent is of the opinion that the
Insurance company is to held responsible to make the payment of the penalty and the interest
accrued on the same. The council believes that a joint reading of Sec. 146 and 1471 of Motor

1 147. Requirements of policies and limits of liability. - (1) In order to comply with the requirements of this Chapter, a
policy of insurance must be a policy which -
(a)
is issued by a person who is an authorised insurer; and
(b)
insures the person or classes of persons specified in the policy to the extent specified in sub-section (2) -
(i)
against any liability which may be incurred by him in respect of the death of or bodily injury to any person including
owner of the goods or his authorised representative carried in the motor vehicle or damage to any property of a third
party caused by or arising out of the use of the motor vehicle in a public place;
(ii)
against the death of or bodily injury to any passenger of a transport vehicle, except gratuitous passengers of a goods
vehicle, caused by or arising out of the use of the motor vehicle in a public place.
Explanation. - For the removal of doubts, it is hereby clarified that the death of or bodily injury to any person or damage
to any property of a third party shall be deemed to have been caused by or to have arisen out of, the use of a vehicle in a
public place, notwithstanding that the person who is dead or injured or the property which is damaged was not in a
public place at the time of the accident, if the act or omission which led to the accident occurred in a public place.
(2)
Notwithstanding anything contained under any other law for the time being in force, for the purposes of third party
insurance related to either death of a person or grievous hurt to a person, the Central Government shall prescribe a base
premium and the liability of an insurer in relation to such premium for an insurance policy under sub-section (1) in
consultation with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority.
(3)
A policy shall be of no effect for the purposes of this Chapter unless and until there is issued by the insurer in favour of
the person by whom the policy is effected, a certificate of insurance in the prescribed form and containing the
prescribed particulars of any condition subject to which the policy is issued and of any other prescribed matters; and
different forms, particulars and matters may be prescribed in different cases.
(4)
Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, a policy of Insurance issued before the commencement of the Motor
Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 shall be continued on the existing terms under the contract and the provisions of this
Act shall apply as if this Act had not been amended by the said Act.
(5)
Where a cover note issued by the insurer under the provisions of this Chapter or the rules or regulations made
thereunder is not followed by a policy of insurance within the specified time, the insurer shall, within seven days of the
expiry of the period of the validity of the cover note, notify the fact to the registering authority or to such other authority
as the State Government may prescribe.
(6)
Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, an insurer issuing a policy of insurance
under this section shall be liable to indemnify the person or classes of persons specified in the policy in respect of any
liability which the policy purports to cover in the case of that person or those classes of persons.
Vehicles Act shows that the insurance company insured the employer-owners of the insured motor
vehicles against all liabilities arising under the Workmen's Compensation act for which statutory
coverage was required.
 Arguments Advanced

1. the Respondent is of the opinion that the Insurance company is to held responsible to make the
payment of the penalty and the interest accrued on the same. The council believes that a joint
reading of Sec. 146 and 147 of Motor Vehicles Act shows that the insurance company insured the
employer-owners of the insured motor vehicles against all liabilities arising under the Workmen's
Compensation act for which statutory coverage was required.

legal representatives of deceased filed petition before Commissioner for Workmen's Compensation
under the Employees Compensation Act. So far as the claim put forward by the heirs of the
deceased driver was concerned the Commissioner awarded a sum of Rs. 88,968/- as
compensation.But as the compensation due was not paid either by the appellant-employer or by the
insurance company as and when it fell due the Commissioner awarded a penalty of Rs. 41,984/-
with interest at the rate of 6% per annum from the date of the accident till the date of payment
under Section 4A(3)(a) and (b) of the Compensation Act.2

2 SECTION 4A(3)(a) and (b) of Compensation Act:

4-A, 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 workman, as the cases may be, without prejudice to the right
of the workman 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 may direct that, in addition to the amount of the arrears, simple interest at the rate six per
cent per annum on the amount due together with, if in the opinion of the Commissioner there is no justification for
delay, a further sum not exceeding fifty per cent of such amount, shall be recovered from the employer by way of
penalty.”

The said Section was further amended by Act 30 of 1995 with effect from 15.9.1995 and in the amended form it now
reads as under :

"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 workman, as the case may be, without prejudice to the right of
to workman 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

(b) if, in his opinion, there is no justification for the delay, direct hat 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.
A mere look at the aforesaid provision shows that Section 4A deals with the time for payment of
compensation as required to be computed under Section 4. Sub-section (1) thereof mandates
that compensation shall be paid as soon as it falls due. Sub-section (2) thereof contemplates a
situation wherein the employer though accepting his liability to pay compensation to his injured
workman disputes the extent of the claim of compensation and in such a case sub-section (2)
enjoins him to make provisional payment based on the extent of accepted liability by depositing
it with the Commissioner or to pay it directly to the workman.

SEC. 146 and 147 of Motor Vehicle Act3

A conjoint reading of the two provisions shows that the insurance company insured the
employer-owners of the insured motor vehicles against all liabilities arising under the
Workmen's Compensation act for which statutory coverage was required under Section 95 of
the Motor Vehicle Act.

Section 149 deals with 'Duty of insurers to satisfy judgments and awards against persons
insured in respect f third party risks’. It is not in dispute and cannot be disputed that the
respondent-insurance companies concerned will be statutorily as well as contractually liable to
make good the claims for compensation arising out of the employers' liability computed as per
the provisions of the Compensation Act.

On a conjoint operation of the relevant schemes of the aforesaid twin Acts, in our view, there is
no escape from the conclusion that the insurance companies will be liable to make good not

3 146: Necessity for insurance against third party risks

(1) No person shall use, except as a passenger, or cause or allow any other person to use, a motor vehicle in a public
place, unless there is in force, in relation to the use of the vehicle by that person or that other person, as the case may be,
a policy of insurance complying with the requirements of this Chapter: Provided that in the case of a vehicle carrying,
or meant to carry, dangerous or hazardous goods, there shall also be a policy of insurance under the Public Liability
Insurance Act, 1991 (6 of 1991). Explanation: For the purposes of this sub-section, a person driving a motor vehicle
merely as a paid employee, while there is in relation to the use of the vehicle no such policy in force as is required by
this sub-section, shall not be deemed to act in contravention of the sub-section unless he knows or has reason to believe
that there is no such policy in force.

(2) The provisions of sub-section (1) shall not apply to any vehicle owned by the Central Government or a State
Government and used for purposes not connected with any commercial enterprise.

(3) The appropriate Government may, by order, exempt from the operation of sub-section (1), any vehicle owned by any
of the following authorities, namely:

• (a) the Central Government or a State Government, if the vehicle is used for purposes connected with
any commercial enterprise;

• (b) any local authority;

• (c) any State Transport Undertaking:

Provided that no such order shall be made in relation to any such authority unless a fund has been established and is
maintained by that authority in such manner as may be prescribed by the appropriate Government.
only the principal amounts of compensation payable by insured employers but also interest
thereon, if ordered by the Commissioner to be paid by the insured employers. Reason for this
conclusion is obvious.

It, therefore, cannot be said by the insurance company that when it is statutorily and even
contractually liable to reimburse the statutory liability to pay compensation to the claimants in
case of such motor accidents to his workmen, the interest on the principal amount which almost
automatically gets foisted upon him once the compensation amount is not paid within one
month from the date it fell due, would not be a part of the insured liability of the employer. No
question of justification by the insured employer for the delay in such circumstances would
arise for consideration.

In the case of Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Raju & Ors. a Bench of two learned Judges of
the Karnataka High Court on the express terms of the Insurance Policy in that case took the
view that the Policy did not extend to indemnify the insured in respect of any interest and/or
penalty which may be imposed on the insured on account of his failure to comply with the
requirements of the Workmen's Compensation Act. There was an express exclusion clause qua
this liability under the Insurance Policy and consequently the Karnataka High Court rightly
came to the conclusion on the facts of that case that liability arising under Section 4A(3) of the
Compensation Act to pay interest on the principal amount as imposed on the insured was not
required to be met by the insurance company.

In the case of Oriental Fire and General Ins. Co. Ltd. v. Nani Bala & Amt., the High Court
of Judicature at Gauhati had to consider the question whether any liability could be imposed
upon the insurer of the offending vehicle which had caused accidental injury o the employees of
the insured employer. It was decided in the said case on a conjoint operation of the Motor
Vehicles Act and the Compensation Act that the provisions o the Compensation act cannot be
viewed in isolation when the Motor Vehicles Act has specifically stated that a policy of
insurance cannot exclude the liability arising under the Compensation Act and that the
expression 'any person' has to cover an insurer also.

The Counsel humbly submits that the Insurance company is to held responsible to make the
payment of the penalty and the interest.
 Prayer

Wherefore, in the light of the issues raised, facts stated, cases referred, arguments advanced
and authorities cited it is most humbly prayed before this Hon’ble Supreme court of India,
that it may be graciously be pleased to hold that:

1. The Insurance company should be liable to meet the awards of Workmen's Commissioner
imposing penalty and interest against the insured employer under Section 4A(3) of the
Compensation Act.

And/or
Pass any other order, direction, or relief that it may deem fit in the best Interests of
Justice, Fairness, Equity and Good Conscience.
For this Act of Kindness, the petitioner shall forever pray.

Date: s/d: ………………………

Place: (Counsel on behalf of Appellant)