All India Bar Examination (AIBE) 2-II Previous Year Question Papers with Answers

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91.

A is an employee in a firm owned by B. A is required by B to travel to and from work by a bus operated by B's firm. A is injured when the bus she was travelling in to go to work meets with an accident. Would A be entitled to compensation under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948 ("the ESI Act") for an employment injury ?


Principle :

Under the doctrine of notional extension, where an obligation is present on a worker to discharge her duty, and she meets with an accident, it is an accident in the course of employment.
A: A would only be so entitled if B were himself driving the bus A was travelling in.
B: A would only be so entitled if B had directed A to travel in that particular bus.
C: A would be entitled to compensation since A's employment could, in these circumstances, be seen to extend to the transport involved in reaching and leaving work.
D: A would not be entitled at all since the accident was not the bus driver's fault.
E: A would not be entitled at all since B has no control over the actions of the bus driver.

The answer is: C

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Explanation

The correct option is C: A would be entitled to compensation since A's employment could, in these circumstances, be seen to extend to the transport involved in reaching and leaving work.

Explanation:

The principle mentioned in the question is the "doctrine of notional extension," which means that if there is an obligation on an employee to discharge her duty, and she meets with an accident, it can be considered an accident in the course of employment.

In this scenario:

A is required by B to travel to and from work using the bus operated by B's firm. This means that A's employment includes the transportation provided by B for commuting to work.


Given the principle of notional extension, A would be entitled to compensation under the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, for an employment injury. A's employment is seen as extending to the transport involved in reaching and leaving work because it is a requirement imposed by the employer (B) for A's job. Therefore, the accident that occurred while A was traveling to work on the company's bus can be considered an accident in the course of employment.

Option C correctly reflects this principle and the situation described in the scenario.