Case: Sanjeev Kr. Samrat Vs. National Insurance Co. Ltd.

a claim under the Act as well as under the 1923 Act, the said person is entitled to compensation under either of the Acts, but not under both. 22. Coming to the scheme of the 1923 Act, it is worth noticing that under Section 3 of the said Act, the employer is liable to pay compensation to the workman in respect of personal injury or death caused by an accident arising out of or in the course of his employment. Section 4 provides the procedure how the amount of compensation is to be determined. In this context, we may usefully quote a passage from Oriental Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Devireddy Konda Reddy and Others [(2003) 2 SCC 339] : - “....Section 147 of the Act mandates compulsory coverage against death of or bodily injury to any passenger of “public service vehicle”. The proviso makes it further clear that compulsory coverage in respect of drivers and conductors of public service vehicle and employees carried in goods vehicle would be limited to liability under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923 (in short “the WC Act”). There is no reference to any passenger in “goods carriage.” [Underlining is ours] 23. In Ved Prakash Garg v. Premi Devi and Others [(1997) 8 SCC 1] , after referring to the scheme of the 1923 Act in the context of payment of penalty for default by the insurer under Section 4-A of the Act, this Court held thus: - “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 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. As we have noted earlier the liability to pay compensation under the Workmens Compensation Act gets foisted on the employer provided it is shown that the workman concerned suffered from personal injury, fatal or otherwise, by any motor accident arising out of and in the course of his employment. Such an accident is also covered by the statutory coverage contemplated by Section 147 of the Motor Vehicles Act read with the identical provisions under the very contracts of insurance reflected by the policy which would make the insurance company liable to cover all such claims for compensation for which statutory liability is imposed on the employer under Section 3 read with Section 4-A of the Compensation Act.” [Emphasis supplied] Thereafter, the Bench proceeded to state thus:- “So far as interest is concerned it is almost automatic once default, on the part of the employer in paying the compensation due, takes place beyond the permissible limit of one month. No element of penalty is involved therein. It is a statutory elongation of the liability of the employer to make good the principal amount of compensation within permissible time-limit during which interest may not run but otherwise liability of paying interest on delayed compensation will ipso facto follow.” Though the said decision was rendered in a different context, yet we have referred to the same only to highlight the liability of the insurer in respect of certain classes of employees. 24. It is worthy to note that sub-clause (i)(c) refers to an employee who is being carried in the vehicle covered by the policy. Such vehicle being a goods carriage, an employee has to be covered by the statutory policy. On an apposite reading of Sections 147 and 167 the intendment of the Legislature, as it appears to us, is to cover the injury to any person including the owner of the goods or his authorised representative carried in a vehicle and an employee who is carried in the said vehicle. It is apt to state here that the proviso commences in a different way. A policy is not required to cover the liability of the employee except an employee covered under the 1923 Act and that too in respect of an employee carried in a vehicle. To put it differently, it does not cover all kinds of employees. Thus, on a contextual reading of the provision, schematic analysis of the Act and the 1923 Act, it is quite limpid that the statutory policy only covers the employees of the insured, either employed or engaged by him in a goods carriage. It does not cover any other kind of employee and therefore, someone who travels not being an authorised agent in place of the owner of goods, and claims to be an employee of the owner of goods, cannot be covered by the statutory policy and to hold otherwise would tantamount to causing violence to the language employed in the Statute. Therefore, we conclude that the insurer would not be liable to indemnify the insured.25. Presently, for the sake of completeness, we shall refer to the policy. The policy, exhibit R-2/3/A, clearly states that insurance is only for carriage of goods and does not cover use of carrying passengers other than employees not more than six in number coming under the purview of the 1923 Act. The language used in the policy reads as follows:- “The Policy does not cover :1. Use for organized racing, pace-making reliability trial or speed testing2. Use whilst dwaing a trailer except the towing (other then for reward) or any one disabled mechanically propelled vehicle.3. Use for varying passengers in the vehicle except employees (other than driver) not exceeding six in number coming under the purview of Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923.” >On a bare reading of the aforesaid policy, there can be no iota of doubt that the policy relates to the insured and it covers six employees (other than the driver, not exceeding six in number) and it is statutory in nature. It neither covers any other category of person nor does it increase any further liability in relation to quantum.26. In view of the aforesaid analysis, we

Decision (1 = appeal accepted, 0 = rejected): 0

Explanation:
0[ds]24. It is worthy to note that sub-clause (i)(c) refers to an employee who is being carried in the vehicle covered by the policy. Such vehicle being a goods carriage, an employee has to be covered by the statutory policy. On an apposite reading of Sections 147 and 167 the intendment of the Legislature, as it appears to us, is to cover the injury to any person including the owner of the goods or his authorised representative carried in a vehicle and an employee who is carried in the said vehicle. It is apt to state here that the proviso commences in a different way. A policy is not required to cover the liability of the employee except an employee covered under the 1923 Act and that too in respect of an employee carried in a vehicle. To put it differently, it does not cover all kinds of employees. Thus, on a contextual reading of the provision, schematic analysis of the Act and the 1923 Act, it is quite limpid that the statutory policy only covers the employees of the insured, either employed or engaged by him in a goods carriage. It does not cover any other kind of employee and therefore, someone who travels not being an authorised agent in place of the owner of goods, and claims to be an employee of the owner of goods, cannot be covered by the statutory policy and to hold otherwise would tantamount to causing violence to the language employed in the Statute. Therefore, we conclude that the insurer would not be liable to indemnify the insured.25. Presently, for the sake of completeness, we shall refer to the policy. The policy, exhibit R-2/3/A, clearly states that insurance is only for carriage of goods and does not cover use of carrying passengers other than employees not more than six in number coming under the purview of the 1923 Act. The language used in the policy reads asPolicy does not cover :1. Use for organized racing, pace-making reliability trial or speed testing2. Use whilst dwaing a trailer except the towing (other then for reward) or any one disabled mechanically propelled vehicle.3. Use for varying passengers in the vehicle except employees (other than driver) not exceeding six in number coming under the purview of>On a bare reading of the aforesaid policy, there can be no iota of doubt that the policy relates to the insured and it covers six employees (other than the driver, not exceeding six in number) and it is statutory in nature. It neither covers any other category of person nor does it increase any further liability in relation to quantum.