10B. REPORTS OF FATAL ACCIDENTS AND SERIOUS BODILY INJURIES
(1) Where, by any law for the time being in force, notice is required to be given to any authority,
by or on behalf of an employer, of any accident occurring on his premises which results in
death, or serious bodily injury, the person required to give the notice shall, within seven
days of the death or serious bodily injury, send a report to the Commissioner giving the
circumstances attending the death or serious bodily injury:
Provided that where the State Government has so prescribed the person required to give
the notice may instead of sending such report to the Commissioner send it to the authority
to whom he is required to give the notice.
Explanation : “Serious bodily injury” means an injury which involves, or in all probability will
involve, the permanent loss of the use of, or permanent injury to, any limb, or the permanent
loss of or injury to the sight or hearing, or the fracture of any limb, or the enforced absence of
the injured person from work for a period exceeding twenty days.
(2) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, extend the provisions
of sub-section (1) to any class of premises other than those coming within the scope of that
sub-section, and may, by such notification, specify the persons who shall send the report
to the Commissioner.
(3) Nothing in this section shall apply to factories to which the Employees’ State Insurance
Act, 1948 (34 of 1948), applies.
11. MEDICAL EXAMINATION
(1) Where a workman has given notice of an accident, he shall, if the employer, before the
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expiry of three days from the time at which service of the notice has been effected, offers
to have him examined free of charge by a qualified medical practitioner, submit himself
for such examination, and any workman who is in receipt of a half-monthly payment
under this Act shall, if so required, submit himself for such examination from time to time :
Provided that a workman shall not be required to submit himself for examination by a
medical practitioner otherwise than in accordance with rules made under this Act, or at
more frequent intervals than may be prescribed.
(2) If a workman, on being required to do so by the employer under sub-section (1) or by the
Commissioner at any time, refuses to submit himself for examination by a qualified medical
practitioner or in any way obstructs the same, his right to compensation shall be suspended
during the continuance of such refusal or obstruction unless, in the case of refusal, he was
prevented by any sufficient cause from so submitting himself.
(3) If a workman, before the expiry of the period within which he is liable under sub-section
(1) to be required to submit himself for medical examination, voluntarily leaves without
having been so examined the vicinity of the place in which he was employed, his right to
compensation shall be suspended until he returns and offers himself for such examination.
(4) Where a workman, whose right to compensation has been suspended under sub-section
(2) or sub-section (3), dies without having submitted himself for medical examination as
required by either of those sub-sections, the Commissioner may, if he thinks fit, direct the
payment of compensation to the dependants of the deceased workman.
(5) Where under sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) a right to compensation is suspended, no
compensation shall be payable in respect of the period of suspension, and, if the period of
suspension commences before the expiry of the waiting period referred to in clause (d) of
sub-section (1) of section 4, the waiting period shall be increased by the period during
which the suspension continues.
(6) Where an injured workman has refused to be attended by a qualified medical practitioner
whose services have been offered to him by the employer free of charge or having accepted
such offer has deliberately disregarded the instructions of such medical practitioner, then
if it is proved that the workman has not thereafter been regularly attended by a qualified
medical practitioner or having been so attended has deliberately failed to follow his
instructions and that such refusal, disregard or failure was unreasonable in the
circumstances of the case and that the injury has been aggravated thereby, the injury and
resulting disablement shall be deemed to be of the same nature and duration as they
might reasonably have been expected to be if the workman had been regularly attended
by a qualified medical practitioner, whose instructions he had followed, and compensation,
if any, shall be payable accordingly.
12. CONTRACTING
(1) Where any person (hereinafter in this section referred to as the principal) in the course of
or for the purposes of his trade or business contracts with any other person (hereinafter in
this section referred to as the contractor) for the execution by or under the contractor of
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the whole or any part of any work which is ordinarily part of the trade or business of the
principal, the principal shall be liable to pay to any workman employed in the execution
of the work any compensation which he would have been liable to pay if that workman
had been immediately employed by him; and where compensation is claimed from the
principal, this Act shall apply as if references to the principal were substituted for references
to the employer except that the amount of compensation shall be calculated with reference
to the wages of the workman under the employer by whom he is immediately employed.
(2) Where the principal is liable to pay compensation under this section, he shall be entitled
to be indemnified by the contractor, or any other person from whom the workman could
have recovered compensation and where a contractor who is himself a principal is liable
to pay compensation or to indemnify a principal under this section he shall be entitled to
be indemnified by any person standing to him in the relation of a contractor from whom
the workman could have recovered compensation, and all questions as to the right to and
the amount of any such indemnity shall, in default of agreement, be settled by the
Commissioner.
(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing a workman from recovering
compensation from the contractor instead of the principal.
(4) This section shall not apply in any case where the accident occurred elsewhere than on, in
or about the premises on which the principal has undertaken or usually undertakes, as
the case may be, to execute the work or which are otherwise under his control or
management.
13. REMEDIES OF EMPLOYER AGAINST STRANGER
Where a workman has recovered compensation in respect of any injury caused under
circumstances creating a legal liability of some person other than the person by whom the
compensation was paid to pay damages in respect thereof, the person by whom the
compensation was paid and any person who has been called on to pay an indemnity under
section 12 shall be entitled to be indemnified by the person so liable to pay damages as aforesaid.
14. INSOLVENCY OF EMPLOYER
(1) Where any employer has entered into a contract with any insurers in respect of any liability
under this Act to any workman, then in the event of the employer becoming insolvent or
making a composition or scheme of arrangement with his creditors or, if the employer is a
company, in the event of the company having commenced to be wound up, the rights of
the employer against the insurers as respects that liability shall, notwithstanding anything
in any law for the time being in force relating to insolvency or the winding up of companies,
be transferred to and vest in the workman, and upon any such transfer the insurers shall
have the same rights and remedies and be subject to the same liabilities as if they were the
employer, so, however, that the insurers shall not be under any greater liability to the
workman than they would have been under to the employer.
(2) If the liability of the insurers to the workman is less than the liability of the employer to
the workman, the workman may prove for the balance in the insolvency proceedings or
liquidation.
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(3) Where in any case such as is referred to in sub-section (1) the contract of the employer
with the insurers is void or voidable by reason of non-compliance on the part of the
employer with any terms or conditions of the contract (other than a stipulation for the
payment of premia), the provisions of that sub-section shall apply as if the contract were
not void or voidable, and the insurers shall be entitled to prove in the insolvency
proceedings or liquidation for the amount paid to the workman :
Provided that the provisions of this sub-section shall not apply in any case in which the
workman fails to give notice to the insurers of the happening of the accident and of any
resulting disablement as soon as practicable after he becomes aware of the institution of
the insolvency or liquidation proceedings.
(4) There shall be deemed to be included among the debts which under section 49 of the
Presidency-towns Insolvency Act, 1909 (3 of 1909), or under section 61 of the Provincial
Insolvency Act, 1920 (5 of 1920), or under section 530 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of
1956), are in the distribution of the property of an insolvent or in the distribution of the
assets of a company being wound up to be paid in priority to all other debts, the amount
due in respect of any compensation the liability wherefore accrued before the date of the
order of adjudication of the insolvent or the date of the commencement of the winding up,
as the case may be, and those Acts shall have effect accordingly.
(5) Where the compensation is a half-monthly payment, the amount due in respect thereof
shall, for the purposes of this section, be taken to be the amount of the lump sum for
which the half-monthly payment could, if redeemable, be redeemed if application were
made for that purpose under section 7, and a certificate of the Commissioner as to the
amount of such sum shall be conclusive proof thereof.
(6) The provisions of sub-section (4) shall apply in the case of any amount for which an insurer
is entitled to prove under sub-section (3), but otherwise those provisions shall not apply
where the insolvent or the company being wound up has entered into such a contract
with insurers as is referred to in sub-section (1).
(7) This section shall not apply where a company is wound up voluntarily merely for to
purposes of reconstruction or of amalgamation with another company.
14A. COMPENSATION TO BE FIRST CHARGE ON ASSETS TRANSFERRED BY
EMPLOYER
Where an employer transfers his assets before any amount due in respect of any compensation,
the liability whereof accrued before the date of the transfer has-been paid, such amount shall,
notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, be a first
charge on that part of the assets so transferred as consists of immovable property.
15. SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO MASTERS AND SEAMEN
This Act shall apply in the case of workmen who are masters of ships or seamen subject to the
following modifications, namely :—
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(1) The notice of the accident and the claim for compensation may, except where the person
injured is the master of the ship, be served on the master of the ship as if he were the
employer, but where the accident happened and the disablement commenced on board
the ship, it shall not be necessary for any seaman to give any notice of the accident.
(2) In the case of the death of a master or seaman, the claim for compensation shall be made
within one year after the news of the death has been received by the claimant or, where
the ship has been or is deemed to have been lost with all hands, within eighteen months of
the date on which the ship was, or is deemed to have been, so lost.
Provided that the Commissioner may entertain any claim to compensation in any case
notwithstanding that the claim has not been preferred in due time as provided in this subsection,
if he is satisfied that the failure so to prefer the claim was due to sufficient cause.
(3) Where an injured master or seaman is discharged or left behind in any part of India or in
any foreign country any depositions taken by any Judge or Magistrate in that part or by
any Consular Officer in the foreign country and transmitted by the person by whom they
are taken to the Central Government or any State Government shall, in any proceedings
for enforcing the claim, be admissible in evidence :
(a) if the deposition is authenticated by the signature of the Judge, ‘ Magistrate or Consular
Officer before whom it is made;
(b) if the defendant or the person accused, as the case may be, had an opportunity by
himself or his agent to cross-examine the witness; and
(c) if the deposition was made in the course of a criminal proceeding, on proof that the
deposition was made in the presence of the person accused; and it shall not be necessary
in any case to prove the signature or official character of the person appearing to have
signed any such deposition and a certificate by such person that the defendant or the
person accused had an opportunity of cross-examining the witness and that the
deposition if made in a criminal proceeding was made in the presence of the person
accused shall, unless the contrary is proved, be sufficient evidence that he had that
opportunity and that it was so made.
(4) No half-monthly payment shall be payable in respect of the period during which the owner
of the ship is, under any law in force for the time being relating to merchant shipping,
liable to defray the expenses of maintenance of the injured master or seaman.
(5) No compensation shall be payable under this Act in respect of any injury in respect of
which provision is made for payment of a gratuity, allowance or pension under the War
Pensions and Detention Allowances (Mercantile Marine, etc.) Scheme, 1939, or the War
Pensions and Detention Allowances (Indian Seamen, etc.) Scheme, 1941, made under the
Pensions (Navy, Army, Air Force and Mercantile Marine) Act, 1939, or under War pensions
and Detention Allowances (Indian Seaman) Scheme, 1942, made by the Central
Government.
(6) Failure to give a notice or make a claim or commence proceedings within the time required
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by this Act shall not be a bar to the maintenance of proceedings under this Act in respect
of any personal injury, if—
(a) an application has been made for payment in respect of the injury under any of the
schemes referred to in the preceding clause, and
(b) the State Government certifies that the said application was made in the reasonable
belief that the injury was one in respect of which the scheme under which the
application was made makes provision for payments, and that the application was
rejected or that payments made in pursuance of the application were discontinued on
the ground that the injury was not such an injury, and
(c) the proceedings under this Act are commenced within one month from the date on
which the said certificate of the State Government was furnished to the person
commencing the proceedings.
15A. SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO CAPTAINS AND OTHER MEMBERS OF
CREW OF AIRCRAFT’S
This Act shall apply in the case of workmen who are captains or other members of the crew of
aircraft’s subject to the following modifications, namely :—
(1) The notice of the accident and the claim for compensation may, except where the person
injured is the captain of the aircraft, be served on the captain of the aircraft as if he were
the employer, but where the accident happened and the disablement commenced on board
the aircraft it shall not be necessary for any member of the crew to give notice of the
accident.
(2) In the case of the death of the captain or other member of the crew, the claim for
compensation shall be made within one year after the news of the death has been received
by the claimant or, where the aircraft has been or is deemed to have been lost with all
hands, within eighteen months of the date on which the aircraft was, or is deemed to have
been, so lost :
Provided that the Commissioner may entertain any claim for compensation in any case
notwithstanding that the claim has not been preferred in due time as provided in this subsection,
if he is satisfied that the failure so to prefer the claim was due to sufficient cause.
(3) Where an injured captain or other member of the crew of the aircraft is discharged or left
behind in any part of India or in any other country, any depositions taken by any Judge or
Magistrate in that part or by any Consular Officer in the foreign country and transmitted
by the person by whom they are taken to the Central Government or any State Government
shall, in any proceedings for enforcing the claims, be admissible in evidence—
(a) if the deposition is authenticated by the signature of the Judge, Magistrate or Consular
Officer before whom it is made;
(b) if the defendant or the person accused, as the case may be, had an opportunity by
himself or his agent to cross-examine the witness;
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(c) if the deposition was made in the course of a criminal proceeding, on proof that the
deposition was made in the presence of the person accused, and it shall not be necessary
in any case to prove the signature or official character of the person appearing to have
signed any such deposition and a certificate by such person that the defendant or the
person accused had an opportunity of cross-examining the witness and that the
deposition if made in a criminal proceeding was made in the presence of the person
accused shall, unless the contrary is proved, be sufficient evidence that he had that
opportunity and that it was so made.
15B. SPECIAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO WORKMEN ABROAD OF COMPANIES
AND MOTOR VEHICLES
This Act shall apply—
(i) in the case of workmen who are persons recruited by companies registered in India and
working as such abroad, and
(ii) persons sent for work abroad along with motor vehicles registered under the Motor Vehicles
Act ( 9 of 1988) as drivers, helpers, mechanics, cleaners or other workmen, subject to the
following modifications, namely :—
(1) The notice of the accident and the claim for compensation may be served on the local
agent of the company, or the local agent of the owner of the motor vehicle, in the country
of accident, as the case may be,
(2) In the case of death of the workman in respect of whom the provisions of this section shall
apply, the claim for compensation shall be made within one year after the news of the
death has been received by the claimant :
Provided that the Commissioner may entertain any claim for compensation in any case
notwithstanding that the claim has not been preferred in due time as provided in this subsection,
if he is satisfied that the failure so to prefer the claim was due to sufficient cause.
(3) Where an injured workman is discharged or left behind in any part of India or in any
other country any depositions taken by any Judge or Magistrate in that part or by any
Consular Officer in the foreign country and transmitted by the person by whom they are
taken to the Central Government or any State Government shall, in any proceedings for
enforcing the claims, be admissible in evidence—
(a) If the deposition is authenticated by the signature of the Judge, Magistrate or Consular
Officer before whom it is made;
(b) If the defendant or the person accused, as the case may be, had an opportunity by
himself or his agent to cross-examine the witness;
(c) If the deposition was made in the course of a criminal proceeding, on proof that the
deposition was made in the presence of the person accused, and it shall not be necessary
in any case to prove the signature or official character of the person appearing to have
signed any such deposition and a certificate by such person that the defendant or the
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person accused had an opportunity of cross-examining the witness and that the
deposition if made in a criminal proceeding was made in the presence of the person
accused shall, unless the contrary is proved, be sufficient evidence that he had that
opportunity and that it was so made.
16. RETURNS AS TO COMPENSATION
The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that every person
employing workmen, or that any specified class of such persons, shall send at such time and in
such form and to such authority, as may be specified in the notification, a correct return
specifying the number of injuries in respect of which compensation has been paid by the
employer during the previous year and the amount of such compensation together with such
other particulars as to the compensation as the State Government may direct.
17. CONTRACTING OUT
Any contractor agreement whether made before or after the commencement of this Act, whereby
a workman relinquishes any right of compensation from the employer for personal injury
arising out of or in the course of the employment, shall be null and void in so far as it purports
to remove or reduce the liability of any person to pay compensation under this Act.
18A. PENALTIES
(1) Whoever—
(a) Fails to maintain a notice-book which he is required to maintain under sub-section (3)
of section 10, or
(b) Fails to send to the Commissioner a statement which he is required to send under
sub-section (1) of section 10A, or
(c) Fails to send a report which he is required to send under section 10B, or
(d) Fails to make a return which he is required to make under section 16, shall be punishable
with fine which may extend to five thousand rupees.
(2) No prosecution under this section shall be instituted except by or with the previous sanction
of a Commissioner, and no Court shall take cognizance of any offence under this section,
unless complaint thereof is made within six months of the date on which the alleged
commission of the offence came to the knowledge of the Commissioner.
19. REFERENCE TO COMMISSIONERS
(1) If any question arises in any proceedings under this Act as to the liability of any person to
pay compensation (including any question as to whether a person injured is or is not a
workman) or as to the amount or duration of compensation (including any question as to
the nature or extent of disablement), the question shall, in default of agreement, be settled
by a Commissioner.
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(2) No Civil Court shall have jurisdiction to settle, decide or deal with any question which is
by or under this Act required to be settled, decided or dealt with by a Commissioner or to
enforce any liability incurred under this Act.
20. APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSIONER
(1) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint any person to
be a Commissioner for Workmen’s Compensation for such area as may be specified in the
notification.
(2) Where more than one Commissioner has been appointed for any area, the State Government
may, by general or special order, regulate the distribution of business between them.
(3) Any Commissioner may, for the purpose of deciding any matter referred to him for decision
under this Act, choose one or more persons possessing special knowledge of any matter
relevant to the matter under inquiry to assist him in holding the inquiry.
(4) Every Commissioner shall be deemed to be a public servant within the meaning of the
Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
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