Non-receipt of relief would not stop obligation to pay interest: Karnataka High Court

The Kalaburagi bench of the high court has said that the obligation on the opposite party/judgement debtor to pay the interest would not stop in the absence of the amount awarded received by the claimant or decree holder. The petition was filed by an insurance company challenging an order of a court in Raichur to pay an additional Rs 3.37 lakh as arrears of interest.

The claimant, Nagaraj, a resident of Deodurga in Raichur district, had suffered serious injuries to his left ankle and lumbar region as he fell down in May 2008, while working in mill feeder equipment.

He filed a claim petition before the Workman Compensation Commissioner, contending that he had suffered permanent disability.

On February 20, 2013, he was awarded Rs 4.02 lakh compensation with 12% interest. The insurance company deposited the compensation amount with interest of Rs 81,498, calculated from 2011, when the claim petition was filed, till August 1, 2013, the date of deposit. The insurance company moved the high court against the compensation order.

Meanwhile, in the execution petition filed by Nagaraj, the insurance company was told to make payment of the balance interest of Rs 3.37 lakh, calculated from August 1, 2013, till the date of the order.

The deposit amount was paid to Nagaraj only on February 17, 2023, and the execution petition was filed thereafter for the balance of interest. In the meantime, on April 8, 2023, the appeal filed by the insurance company was also dismissed, the judge further pointed out.

Justice Suraj Govindaraj observed that if at all the judgment debtor wished for the interest to stop running, then the payment was required to be made to the decree-holder. A mere deposit would not suffice, since the deposit made would not ensure the benefit of the decree-holder, the court said.

“Whenever any judgment or award is passed in favour of a party, be it a claimant or a plaintiff, such party would be entitled to the principal amount and interest thereon till the date of receipt of the amounts. Merely because, the defendant or the judgment debtor was to deposit the amounts in a court of law or as done in this case before the Workmen’s Compensation Commissioner, the obligation to pay the amounts would not cease,” the court said.