Source : Bar and Bench
A three-judge Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy upheld a judgment of the Patna High Court in this regard. The Court was deciding the plea of a person who was found suffering from ‘Dilated Cardiomyopathy’ and was declared permanently unfit for sea service.
The question before the Court was whether petitioner was entitled to the benefit of disability compensation under clause 21 of the National Maritime Board (NMB) Agreement. The work of the petitioner are hazardous to health. The petitioner suffered from other ailments which included depression, 46% hearing loss and 40% vision loss. He then claimed ‘Disability Compensation’ under Clause 21 of NMB Agreement dated, but was awarded ‘Severance Compensation’ as provided Clause 25 of NMB Agreement which he refused to accept.
The petitioner had submitted that ‘Dilated Cardiomyopathy’ is nothing but an internal injury to heart by which it cannot pump blood effectively due to enlargement. It was his argument that the internal injury in this case was due to stressful working condition of the seafarer.