Document Fragment View

Matching Fragments

4. Learned counsel for the respondent urged at the time of the hearing that the murder of Laxmi Narayan was an accident for the purpose of compensation under the Employee‟s Compensation Act. It was submitted that the deceased found himself at a spot where he was assaulted and murdered only because of his employment with the appellant as the deceased was on duty.

5. Whether the murder of the deceased, Laxmi Narayan was an "accident" arising out of and during the course of his employment ? The law on this issue is well settled by the Supreme Court in Rita Devi v. New India Assurance Co. Ltd., 2000 ACJ 801 (SC). The Supreme Court drew distinction between a "murder" which is not an accident and a "murder" which is an accident. The Supreme Court laid down the test that if the dominant intention of the felonious act is to kill any particular person, then such killing is not accidental murder but a murder simpliciter. However, if the cause of murder or act of murder was originally not intended and the same was caused in furtherance of any other felonious act, then such murder is an accidental murder. Para 10 of the judgment is relevant and is reproduced hereunder:

"1. Whether death of the deceased Mohammed Sultan was due to murder simpliciter or accidental murder is the intricate question raised in this appeal.
xxx xxx xxx 9.2 The basic parameter/principle to be considered in order to decide whether it is a case of murder simpliciter or accidental murder has been given in the following decisions.
i) 2000 SAR Civil 573 SC (Smt. Rita Devi & Ors. v. New India Assurance Company Limited & Another)
ii) 2009 (2) TN MAC Page 399 (Gujarat High Court at Ahmedabad) (National Insurance Company Ltd. v. Gitaben Saitansinh Rajput & Ors. Page 405) According to the decisions, if the dominant intention of the crime is to kill the deceased, then the killing is a murder simpliciter, but if the murder was not originally intended but, if the murder had been caused in furtherance of any other crime or if the murder is consequential to some other crime, then it can be considered to be an accidental murder.
─ If the dominant intention of the crime is to kill the deceased, then the killing is a murder simpliciter. However, if the murder was not originally intended and is in furtherance of any other crime or consequential to some other crime, then it can be considered to be an accidental murder.
31.3. A murder can be an accident in cases where the cause of murder or act of murder was originally not intended and the same was caused in furtherance of any other felonious act then such murder is an accidental murder, because the deceased employee could not have anticipated that the unforeseen incident (murder) would happen to him. It will be an unlooked for mishap or an untoward event, which is not expected or designed and therefore, a murder can be an „accident‟ from the point of view of the person who suffered from it is an accident.