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1. This is an appeal under Section 30 of the Workmen's Compensation Act, 1923 (the Act) by the legal heirs of the deceased Abdul Aziz Qureshi, whose claim for compensation under Section 22 of the Act has been dismissed by the Commissioner.

2. Abdul Aziz, aged 51, was a bus driver in the service of the Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC). On 7th November 1983, in the regular course of his employment, he drove a passenger bus from Umred to Nagpur. The bus reached Nagpur about two hours late at 8.30 P.M. The second part of the journey was to commence for destination Girad at 9.30 P.M. The bus was stationed at the bus stand platform, all passengers got down and the conductor Iqbal Shaikh proceeded to issue tickets. When the first two passengers to Girad-Ramchandra and Mohd. Hussain - entered the bus, they found Abdul Aziz lying unconscious on the bonnet and the steering wheel. They reported the mater to the conductor who along with mechanic Mohd. Akram entered the bus, lifted the body of Abdul Aziz, put it in the lying condition and straightway took the bus to the Government Medical College Hospital, where Abdul Aziz was declared dead by the attending doctor at about 9 P.M. The death was attributed to heart failure due to sudden heart-attack.

8. The case of Anubibi v. Nagri Mills Co. Ltd. (1977-II-LLJ-510) was of a death by heart attack of a deceased workman, who had started his work at about 3.30 P.M. and who was found lying unconscious near his weaving loom of the mills round 5 P.M. When he was removed to the dining shed he was found dead. The medical officer gave a report that the death was due to heart failure by heart attack. The Commissioner rejected the claim of the legal heirs on the ground that it was a case of natural death and the causal connection between the death and work done in the employment was not established by the claimants by direct evidence. Gujarat High Court considering the entire circumstances including the fact that the workman was working on a loom in an artificial atmosphere of humidity, came to the conclusion that greater possibility was that heart failure had been accelerated due to the strain of work and, therefore, held the injury compensable.

9. Legal position thus seems to have been settled down to this : Heart injury when brought about by a strain due to the work in the employment (and not by natural wear and tear of employment) is compensable though pre-existing condition may have been the contributory element and this is irrespective of the percentage of the part played by either of them viz., the work and the condition.

10. What about a case of accidental death by heart failure due to heart attack where contributory factor of existence of pre-condition of heart ailment does not exist ? The answer given by a Full Bench of the Assam High Court in the case of Assam Railways and Trading Co. Ltd. v. Saraswati Devi A.C.J. 1958-66 page 394 can best be summarised in its own words :

13. Thus in our view, the burden on the legal heirs of proving causal connection between the accident and the work done in the course of employment stood discharged by the above speaking circumstances on record and there was grave error on the part of the Commissioner in totally ignoring them. The approach of the learned Commissioner, which in our view was quite erroneous, was this : the deceased had only driven the bus for a distance of about 30 miles from Umred to Nagpur, he was an experienced driver and therefore, there could not be any strain of driving on him, he had not suffered heart-attack before, he had suffered heart attack while he was sitting at the steering wheel and since there was no direct evidence of the accident, the claimants must fail.