4 min readNew DelhiJul 28, 2026 07:00 PM IST
The Delhi High Court recently upheld an order directing the Commandant, 510 Army Base Workshop, to pay Rs 5.23 lakh to an employee who suffered 85 per cent permanent disability in a road accident, holding that a “pre-existing” disability does not prevent an employee from claiming compensation for injuries sustained in a subsequent accident.
Hearing an appeal filed by the Commandant, 510 Army Base Workshop challenging a 2013 order passed by the employees’ compensation commissioner, Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri noted that the employee, Sudarshan Pareek, who was travelling to attend an official training programme in 2010, was already suffering from 65 per cent disability before the accident and was also receiving benefits on that basis.
“The medical board, after examining the respondent with reference to the accident dated December 12, 2010, assessed him as suffering from 85 per cent permanent disability. Merely the fact that the respondent (employee) was suffering from a pre-existing disability cannot, by itself, disentitle him from claiming compensation under the Act in respect of injuries sustained in a subsequent accident,” the July 24 order read.
The high court upheld the May 2013 order directing to pay compensation of Rs 5.23 lakh to Pareek.
Accident, injuries, assessment
Pareek claimed that he had been working with the Commandant, 510 Army Base Workshop, since October 2009. During the course of his employment, he was nominated to attend an advanced professional training programme on quasi-judicial functions at the Judicial Academy of Chandigarh from December 13, 2010 to December 18, 2010.
Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri rejected the authorities’ ‘wholly misconceived’ claim that prior disability benefits barred further compensation.
He claimed that accordingly he proceeded from Meerut Cantonment to Chandigarh on December 12, 2010 after obtaining the requisite permission but on the way he met with a road accident and sustained multiple injuries. He was then assessed by a medical board to be suffering from 85 per cent permanent disability. However, Pareek’s compensation claim was not accepted, compelling him to proceed under the Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923. The employees’ compensation commissioner directed the authority to pay Rs 5.23 lakh to him in May 2013.
Aggrieved by this order, the authorities moved the high court challenging it. The employee was represented by counsels, including Senior Advocate H L Tiku, while the authority was represented counsels, including advocate R V Sinha.
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Army’s plea ‘wholly misconceived’
The court rejected as “wholly misconceived” the authorities’ argument that the man had already been receiving benefits on account of 65 per cent disability and was hence not eligible for further compensation based on 85 per cent disability. “The respondent was already suffering from 65 per cent disability much prior to the accident in question and was receiving benefits on that basis,” it added.
The high court noted that beyond narrating the movement of the file through various governmental offices, no explanation was furnished by the authority for the prolonged and inordinate delay in filing the present appeal. “The explanation offered neither shows diligence nor adequately explains the prolonged inaction over a period of more than three-and-half- year,” it stated.
Accordingly, the high court dismissed the appeal, directed that the entire award amount deposited before the commissioner along with accrued interest be released to Pareek, and ordered the Army authorities to pay the remaining interest due within four weeks.
Justice Manoj Kumar Ohri rejected the authorities’ ‘wholly misconceived’ claim that prior disability benefits barred further compensation.