Gujarat HC rules GEB liable for workman's electrocution death

In a significant ruling, Gujarat High Court has held that Gujarat Electricity Board cannot evade its liability as principal employer for the death of a worker, even if the deceased was engaged through a third-party contractor.

A single-judge bench ruled that the original claimants — the widow and heirs of deceased workman Manga Kadwa — are entitled to receive compensation and penalty jointly and severally from both the principal employer and the contractor.

The court granted the electricity board liberty to recover the amount from the contractor later, if the terms of their contract permit.

The tragic incident occurred on January 9, 1993, when 25-year-old Manga Kadwa, while working under a contractor’s instructions, climbed an electric pole in Godhra to tie wires and was electrocuted by an exposed live wire. His family approached the Workmen’s Compensation Commissioner (WCC) seeking relief under the Employees Compensation Act, 1923.

The commissioner had awarded ₹87,351.60 as compensation along with 9% interest and a penalty of ₹43,675.80, but had fastened the entire liability on the contractor while exonerating GEB and its junior engineer. 

Aggrieved by this, the claimants filed an appeal seeking to hold the board accountable. Allowing the appeal, the high court observed that under Section 12 of the Employees Compensation Act, a principal employer is liable for any injury or death of a workman engaged in work that forms part of the ordinary business of the principal employer.

The court said principal employers cannot be allowed to escape liability by routing work through contractors.

“The GEB is legally duty bound to pay the compensation,” the court held, directing the voard to deposit the full amount before the WCC within two months. The ruling ensures immediate relief to the family while preserving the Board’s right to seek indemnification from the contractor as per contractual terms.