Judgment Intelligence
OtherLaxman Kumawat v. Madan Singh & Anr.
2026:RJ-JP:5162
S.B. Civil Miscellaneous Appeal No. 2560/2024
- Court
- Rajasthan High Court
- Date of Decision
- 4 February 2026
- Bench
- Justice Anoop Kumar Dhand
- Relevant Acts & Sections
- Ministry of Labour and Employment Notifications S.O. 186(E) (19.01.2017) and S.O. 187(E) — classification of workers and minimum wages; Factories Act, 1948
Final Outcome
Appeal partly allowed. The claimant gets a further Rs.33,040.60 as enhanced compensation; the rest of the award stands (para 21). The respondents must pay it into his savings bank account within two months with 6% interest a year from the date of the claim petition (para 22).
Key holdings
- A 'Beldar' is unskilled labour under the 2017 minimum-wage notifications; skilled labour requires some technical qualification (paras 8-10).
- The '26-day rule' presumes a paid weekly rest day, which daily wagers do not get (paras 12-15).
- Daily wagers are presumed to work every day of the month, so their income is counted for 30 days (paras 18-19).
- The recalculated compensation was Rs.3,20,665.6, an increase of Rs.33,040.60 over the Tribunal award (para 20).
- The Court asked the Union and Rajasthan labour departments to amend their notifications to count 30 days (para 23).
Brief Facts
The claimant, a Beldar, was riding a motorcycle on 27.08.2020 when a vehicle coming from the opposite side collided with it; he suffered simple and grievous injuries, his leg was operated on, and he claimed 13% permanent disability (para 2). On 15.02.2024 the Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, Beawar awarded Rs.2,87,625 (para 1), treating him as unskilled labour and counting the minimum wage of Rs.252 a day for 26 days, giving Rs.6,552 (paras 2, 11). In appeal he argued that a Beldar is skilled labour and that a daily wager's income must be counted for 30 days, relying on Nandu Devi (paras 2-3). The insurer defended the award (para 4).
Court's Findings
On the first issue, skilled labour needs specialised knowledge or training (para 7), and the Central labour notifications of 2017 list Beldar among unskilled workers (para 8). A skilled labourer has some technical qualification, which the claimant lacked, so the Tribunal rightly treated him as unskilled (paras 9-10). On the second issue, the '26-day rule' assumes a six-day week with a paid weekly rest day, but no daily wager is paid for the rest day (para 12). Labour laws mandate a weekly off, yet daily wagers are paid only for days worked, so a holiday means lost income and they work all seven days to support their families (paras 14-17). The presumption is that they work every day of the month (para 18), so minimum wages must be counted for 30 days, and the labour notifications need correction (para 19). Following Nandu Devi, the Court took Rs.252 x 30 = Rs.7,560, added 40% for future prospects (Rs.10,584 a month, Rs.1,27,008 a year), applied a multiplier of 15 (Rs.19,05,120) and took 13% as loss of income, Rs.2,47,665.6. With the other heads the total came to Rs.3,20,665.6, or Rs.33,040.60 more than the award (para 20).
Legal Principle
When a daily wager's loss of income is assessed in a motor accident claim, the monthly income is the daily minimum wage multiplied by 30, not 26, because daily wagers are not paid for weekly offs and are presumed to work every day. A Beldar without technical qualification remains unskilled labour (paras 9-10, 18-20).
Precedents Relied Upon
- Nandu Devi & Anr. v. Sohanlal & Ors. S.B. Civil Misc. Appeal No. 769/2017, decided on 23.02.2022
The Tribunal ought to have considered a daily wager's monthly income for 30 days instead of 26 days.
- Jalaur Singh & Ors. v. Barkat Singh & Ors. 2012(2) MACT Raj. 692
Co-ordinate Bench judgment relied upon in Nandu Devi for counting a daily wager's monthly income for 30 days instead of 26 days.
