Air India Charters Ltd. Vs Tanja Glusica (Bombay High Court)
Bombay High Court held that as per section 12(1) of the Employees Compensation Act, 1923 there cannot be any imposition of penalty upon the principal employer.
Facts- The Respondents are Serbian nationals and the family members and dependents of deceased Zlatko Glusica, who was working as pilot with the Appellant-Company and expired while on duty on 22nd May 2010 in an unfortunate accident which occurred at Mangalore. On 27th September, 2012 the Appellant-Company deposited with the office of Labour Commissioner (Workmen’s Compensation) sum of Rs. 3,32,15,589/-.
The application u/s. 22 of Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923 was filed on 11th October, 2012. The application filed on 11th October, 2012 was not pressed and subsequently on 3rd July, 2013 another application was filed by the Respondents claiming compensation amount of USD 745580, maximum penalty of 50% and maximum interest of 12%. The contentions raised was that the deceased was in employment with the Appellant-Company through a contract executed by the Appellant-Company with one Sigmar Aviation Ltd. The services of deceased were made available to the Appellant-Company and the deceased was working under the direct supervision of Appellant-Company.
The Respondents filed the claim through their constituted attorney pleading difficulty in coming to India. The Respondents, after meeting the Constituted Attorney became aware of their rights and through the Constituted Attorney lodged a claim with the Appellant-Company by e-mail on 21st May, 2012. There was no payment of interim compensation and no deposit by the Appellant-Company even after 2 years of accident.
