FAO No.2121 of 2002 -1- IN THE HIGH COURT FOR THE STATES OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH FAO No.2121 of 2002 Date of Decision.13.07.2010 New India Assurance Co. Ltd., Regional Office, SCO No.36-37, Sector 17-A, Chandigarh through its duly constituted Attorney .........Appellant Versus Jasbir Kaur wd/o Karnail Singh and others .......Respondents Present: Mr. Inderjit Sharma, Advocate for the appellant. None for the respondents. CORAM:HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN 1. Whether Reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not ? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? -.- K. KANNAN J.(ORAL) 1. The appeal is by the insurer against the award passed by the Workmen's Compensation Commissioner challenging the term of the award that imposed penalty on the insurer for delayed payment. The appeal is on the ground that the liability arose only on the date of the award and penalty cannot be imposed in view of the law laid down by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Ved Praksah Garg Vs. Premi Devi and others (1997) 8 SCC 1. The award prescribes an entitlement to the claimants to Rs.94,780/- and a penalty to the extent of Rs.9,478/-. The Tribunal has also awarded interest on the amount @12%. In my view, the award is justified on all counts except imposition of penalty against the owner and the insurer. The FAO No.2121 of 2002 -2- direction for interest is also justified in view of a clear finding that there had been deliberate delay on the part of the employer and the insurer in settling the claim. 2. The appeal is allowed in part in so far as the direction for payment of penalty contained in the award of the Workmen's Compensation Commissioner. The award is confirmed in all other respects. (K. KANNAN) JUDGE July 13, 2010 Pankaj*