Report No. 62
4.10. English Law.-
In England, a similar view was taken by the House of Lords1 (though Lord Dunedin dissented). It appears, however, that the House of Lords did find some difficulty in arriving at the decision. The law in England was subsequently altered by statute2. In the (English) Workmen's Compensation Act of 1925 which replaced the Act of 1906, it is provided in section 2(3):
"Where a dependant dies before a claim under this Act is made, or if a claim has been made, before an agreement or award has been arrived at or made, the legal personal representative of the dependant shall have no right to payment of compensation, and the amount of compensation shall be calculated and apportioned as if that dependant had died before the workman."
1. United Collieries Ltd. v. Simpson, 1909 AC 383.
2. See section 2(3), English Act of 1925.
4.11. The High Court of Calcutta, in the case cited above1, after referring to the statutory provision in England2, observed:-
"There is no corresponding provision in the Indian Act. If the opposite view is taken, the position would be that the right to compensation would depend upon the accident of the time when the Commissioner made his inquiry or when the dependant dies. If the Commissioner were delayed in making his inquiry through some cause, such as a heavy list or some other unavoidable delay, dependants might die uncompensated after suffering privations through the loss of the workman upon whom they were dependant. Such could not be the position under the Act."
1. Pasupathi Dutta v. Kelvin Jute Mills, AIR 1937 Cal 495, para. 4.8, supra.
2. Para. 4.10, supra.
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