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Smt. Dariyao Kanwar & Ors. vs. M/s. United India Insurance Co. Ltd. & Anr.

Civil Appeal · 2023 INSC 756Decided 23 Aug 2023
Civil Appeal No. 5416 of 2012
Hima Kohli · Rajesh Bindal

Background

Sumer Singh, a 41-year-old truck driver, was on a long-haul drive from Delhi to Baroda (Gujarat) for his employer when, in the middle of the night near Udaipur, he felt unwell, parked his vehicle, and died shortly after. His family sought compensation under the Employee's Compensation Act, 1923, and the insurance policy had specifically covered such compensation. The Workmen's Compensation Commissioner awarded them about Rs. 3.26 lakh, but the Delhi High Court overturned this, holding there was no proven link between his death and his work.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court relied on its own earlier decisions in similar cases (Param Pal Singh and Northeast Karnataka Road Transport Corporation) holding that when a professional driver undertakes long-distance driving as his regular job, the physical and mental strain of that driving can reasonably be treated as a contributing cause of an otherwise unexplained sudden death, making it an "accident" arising out of and in the course of employment, even without a road collision. Toxicology reports ruled out poisoning, alcohol, or suicide as causes, and the employer admitted Sumer Singh was on duty at the time. The Court held the High Court had wrongly required direct proof that work stress caused the death, restored the Commissioner's original compensation order, and allowed the appeal.

Lesson Learnt

A driver's sudden death from a medical episode while on a long commercial drive can qualify as a compensable workplace accident, even without any collision. Courts recognise that strain from strenuous, prolonged professional driving can be a real contributing cause of death "in the course of employment."

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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