MACT Erred In Categorizing Skilled Mason As Semi-Skilled Worker Under Jharkhand Minimum Wage Notification: High Court Enhances Award

The Jharkhand High Court has rectified an error in the computation of compensation awarded by the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal (MACT), Bokaro by assessing the income of the deceased, a mason, as that of a semi-skilled worker, contrary to the classification in the Jharkhand Minimum Wage Notification.

Justice Subhash Chand, presiding over the case, observed, “the learned Tribunal has held that the deceased was a mason; but the income of the deceased was assessed as a semi-skilled worker in view of the Jharkhand Minimum Wage Notification with effect from 1st October, 2019 the Minimum Wages Act, 1948. The Govt. of Jharkhand vide Notification No. 2/MW-2071/2010 L & T-1836 has released the minimum wages variable dearness allowance effective from 1st October, 2019 as accident had occurred on 27.12.2019. The total minimum wages of semi-skilled worker during the year 2019 was fixed by the Government of Jharkhand Rs. 7008.14/- per month and in round of figure the income was assessed 7,000/- per month.”

“In the very Gazette Notification, the mason is shown under the category of skilled worker and the minimum wages of a skilled worker in this very Gazette Notification the monthly minimum wages are shown 9238/-. As such the income of deceased which was assessed 7,000/- by the learned Tribunal holding the mason as a semi-skilled is wrong and same requires modification because Mason is the skilled worker,” Justice Chand added.

As per the factual matrix of the case, a fatal motor accident took place in 2019 whereby the deceased, aged 35, died after he was hit by a truck being driven negligently and rashly. The deceased was survived by his wife, children, and parents, who filed a petition under Section 166 of the Motor Vehicles Act, seeking ₹30,00,500 as compensation. The deceased, a mason, was notably earning ₹15,000 per month.

The Tribunal , however, held that the deceased was a mason; but his income was assessed as a semi-skilled worker in view of the Jharkhand Minimum Wage Notification with effect from 1st October, 2019 the Minimum Wages Act, 1948.

The Tribunal, thus, passed the impugned Award directing to pay Rs. 14,81,200/- as compensation to the claimants.

The claimants, aggrieved from the Award on quantum of the compensation, filed a miscellaneous application in the Jharkhand High Court, asserting that a mason is categorised as a skilled worker under the said notification, with a minimum monthly wage of ₹9,238. They contended that the Tribunal's classification of the deceased as a semi-skilled worker was erroneous and sought enhancement of the compensation. They further contended that the parents of the deceased were not awarded the amount under the head of loss of consortium.

The High Court also addressed in its judgement the issue of parental and filial consortium. Referring to the Supreme Court's judgement in National Insurance Co. Ltd. v. Pranay Sethi (2017), the High Court held that the parents of the deceased were entitled to ₹40,000 under this head.

Furthermore, the Court applied the statutory 10% enhancement for conventional heads of compensation every three years, directing an additional ₹44,000 for parental and filial consortium, factoring in a 10% enhancement due every three years.

The appeal was partly allowed, with the award modified to ₹18,62,400 for annual loss of dependency and ₹44,000 under the conventional head of parental consortium. The rest of the Tribunal's award remained unchanged.

Case Title: Shakuntala Devi and Ors vs. .M/S National Insurance Co. Ltd. and Anr

LL Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (Jha) 174

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