The Supreme Court of India has referred a provision within the Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923, to the Law Commission of India for “suitable amendment,” stating that its definition of a ‘dependent’ “widowed sister if a minor” is outdated.
The apex court bench, comprising Justice Rajesh Bindal and Justice Manmohan, made the observation while dismissing an appeal filed by an insurance company. The Court noted that “In the present time, no one will normally find a widowed sister who is a minor, especially after enactment of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.”
While the Court dismissed the specific appeal “keeping in view the amount involved,” it explicitly left the “question of law open.”
Background of the Case
The appeal, The New India Assurance Company Ltd. v. Kogga & Ors. (Civil Appeal No. 2574 of 2011), was filed by the insurance company against a judgment dated October 5, 2009, from the High Court of Karnataka at Bangalore.
The High Court had upheld an award by the Commissioner under the Employee’s Compensation Act, 1923 (the ‘1923 Act’), which granted compensation to the dependents of a deceased employee. The dependents in question included the deceased’s two widowed sisters (Respondent Nos. 3 and 4), who were not minors at the time of his death but were reportedly dependent on him.
Appellant’s Arguments
The New India Assurance Company Ltd. challenged the High Court’s judgment before the Supreme Court. As recorded in a previous order dated August 24, 2023, “It is the stand of the appellant-Insurance Company that the two widowed sisters of the deceased employee do not qualify as dependents of the deceased employee, as contemplated under the Statute.”
The appellant’s case rested on the definition of “dependent” found in Section 2(1)(d)(iii)(d) of the 1923 Act.
Court’s Analysis and Observations
The Supreme Court, in its order dated October 9, 2025, first referred to its previous order from August 24, 2023. In that order, the bench had noted the precise statutory language. Section 2(1)(d)(iii)(d) defines a dependent to include “a minor brother, or an unmarried sister or a widowed sister if a minor”.
The bench observed that the Employee’s Compensation Act was enacted in 1923. It then made the specific observation regarding the provision’s relevance today.
“In the present time,” the Court stated, “no one will normally find a widowed sister who is a minor, especially after enactment of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.”
The Court concluded that this discrepancy requires legislative review. “In our view, the matter needs to be considered by the Law Commission of India for suitable amendment of the aforesaid provision or any other in the 1923 Act,” the bench opined.
Final Decision and Directions
In its final order, the Supreme Court, “After hearing learned counsel for the parties and keeping in view the amount involved in the present appeal,” stated, “we do not wish to interfere with the impugned judgment.”
The Court passed the following orders:
- “The appeal is accordingly dismissed, however, leaving the question of law open.”
- A copy of the order is to be sent to the Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice, “who may further refer the same to the Chairperson, Law Commission of India.”
- The Registry was directed to send intimation of the appeal’s dismissal to the respondents “to enable them to withdraw the amount, which is lying deposited in the Karnataka High Court.” The Court further permitted the legal heirs of any deceased respondent to withdraw the amount.
