Liberal construction of employment nexus extends compensation to a commuting accident where travel and work are sufficiently connected.

The phrase "arising out of and in the course of employment" under the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923 must be construed liberally in line with its welfare purpose and the related scheme of the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948. Applying the notional extension doctrine and reading the statutes in pari materia, the SC treated Section 51E of the 1948 Act as clarificatory of commuting accidents. On the undisputed facts, a night watchman travelling to work had a sufficient nexus between the journey, time and place of accident and his employment, so the fatal accident was held compensable and the Commissioner's award was restored.

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Issues: Whether the deceased employee's fatal road accident while commuting to work arose out of and in the course of employment under the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923.

Analysis: The phrase "arising out of and in the course of employment" in the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923 is to be construed in the light of its beneficial object and the cognate scheme of the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948. The earlier restrictive approach in the commuting context was found to have been neutralised by the later statutory intervention in Section 51E of the Employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, which was treated as clarificatory and retrospective because it resolved the ambiguity surrounding accidents occurring while travelling between residence and place of work. The Court also relied on the theory of notional extension and the principle that statutes in pari materia may be read together where they serve a common social welfare object. On the undisputed facts, the deceased was a night watchman proceeding to work during his duty hours and the accident occurred about 5 km from the factory, establishing a sufficient nexus between the circumstances, time and place of the accident and the employment.

Conclusion: The fatal accident is held to have arisen out of and in the course of employment, and compensation under the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923 is payable.

Final Conclusion: The High Court's reversal was set aside and the compensation award of the Commissioner was restored in favour of the claimants.

Ratio Decidendi: A commuting accident may fall within "arising out of and in the course of employment" where the statutory context and the facts establish a real nexus between the journey and the employment, and the provision must be construed liberally in a social welfare statute.

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