No compensation if employee dies natural death: SC

The Supreme Court has held that dependents of a workman, who dies due to heart attack or other natural health reasons, are not entitled to compensation provided for employees dying in accidents "arising out of and in the course of his employment."

Compensation would be payable only if the injury is caused to a workman by accident arising out of and in the course of his employment. There has to be an accident in order to attract the provisions of Section 3 (Workmen's Compensation Act) and such accident must have occured in the course of the workman's employment.

"As indicated herein above, in the instant case, there is no nexus between the accident and the death of the workman since the accident had occured six months prior to his death," a bench of justice Altams Kabir and justice Cyriac Joseph, said.

The apex court passed the order while upholding the appeal filed by an employer Rashida Haroon Kupurade who challenged the Karnataka high court's direction asking her to pay compensation to one of his employees who met with an accident but died of heart attack six months later.

The apex court agreed with the employer that since evidence on record indicated that there was no nexus between the accident and his subsequent death which was natural, Rashida was not liable to pay any compensation under the Act.