IN THE HIGH COURT PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH ..... F.A.O. No.2925 of 2008 (O & M) .... Date of decision: July 25, 2011 I.C.I.C.I. Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd. ...Appellant v. Yudhvir Singh and another ........Respondents CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE MOHINDER PAL 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 ? Present: Mr. Marigank Sharma, Advocate for the appellant. ..... Mohinder Pal, J. CM No.16640-CII of 2008 For the reasons stated in the application, which is supported by an affidavit, the same is allowed and the delay of 91 days in filing the instant appeal is condoned. FAO No.2925 of 2008 (O&M): The ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as `the Insurance Company') has preferred this appeal against the order/award dated 28.2.2008 passed by the Commissioner under Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923, Gurdaspur F.A.O. No.2925 of 2008 (O & M) [2] (hereinafter referred to as `the Commissioner') whereby respondent- workman Yudhvir Singh, who had suffered 50% disability in the employment of respondent No.2 was held entitled to the compensation to the tune of `5,34,504/- along with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum from the date of issue of disability certificate i.e. 20.7.2007 till the date of the award i.e. 28.2.2008. It was further ordered by the Commissioner that if the Insurance Company failed to deposit the amount of compensation along with interest at the rate of 12 per cent per annum within thirty days of the passing of the award, the Insurance Company would be liable to pay interest at the rate of 18 per cent per annum on the aforesaid amount of compensation only from the date of the order till its realization. The workman-respondent No.1 was employed with respondent No.2 as a Driver on Santro car and was getting `4,500/- per month as his salary. On 15.5.2006, while the workman was doing his duty as Driver while going to Gurdaspur, he met with an accident and he received personal injuries. The other occupants of the car i.e. respondent No.2 and his wife also suffered injuries in the said accident. The workman remained admitted in hospitals at Amritsar and Ludhiana for treatment and is still undergoing treatment. At the time of accident, he was 22 years of age. He is unable to drive vehicle or do any other job to earn his livelihood. Disability of the workman was assessed at 50 per cent. He had to spend a huge amount on his treatment. Taking into account the disability and sufferings of the workman-respondent No.1, the Commissioner had awarded the aforesaid amount of compensation i.e. `5,34,504/- along F.A.O. No.2925 of 2008 (O & M) [3] with interest. Since the employer-respondent No.2 had taken the Insurance Policy from the Insurance Company -appellant, the appellant was held liable to pay the compensation. The amount of compensation, in no way, is said to be on the higher side. Learned counsel for the appellant has not seriously contested the factum of quantum of compensation awarded to the claimant in the appeal. He has submitted that the amount of compensation has been deposited by the Insurance Company i.e. principal amount on 23.7.2008. Learned counsel for the appellant, however, contends that the Commissioner cannot award compensation from the date of issuance of disability certificate. He can only award compensation from the date of award. It has been held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the case of Ved Prakash Garg v. Premi Devi and others, (1997) 8 SCC 1 that the Insurance Company will not only be liable to pay the principal amount of compensation but also interest thereon, if any, imposed by the Commissioner. As noticed above, in this case the Commissioner ordered payment of interest to the workman-respondent No.1 at the rate of 12 per cent from the date of issue of disability certificate i.e. 20.7.2007 the date of passing of the award and at the rate of 18 per cent per annum if the amount of compensation was not deposited within thirty days from the date of passing of the award. However, the workman-respondent No.1 will be entitled to receive interest at the rate of 9 per cent per annum from the date of accident till the date of passing of the award and further interest at the same rate from 28.3.2008 i.e. F.A.O. No.2925 of 2008 (O & M) [4] after thirty days of the passing of the award which was given on 28.2.2008 on the amount of compensation in case the amount of compensation i.e. Rs.5,34,504/- along with interest has not been deposited within thirty days of the passing of the award. The impugned award is modified to the extent as indicated above. This appeal stands disposed of accordingly. (Mohinder Pal) July 25, 2011. Judge *hsp*