Here's a look at a recent court decision from the Bombay High Court involving a work injury claim and the validity of a disability certificate.
On February 25, 2026, Judge Jitendra Jain was in charge of an appeal in Bombay. Mahendra Sabharu Majhi, originally from Gram Teveri, Orissa, was the person who brought the case. He had been working at a construction site in Thane for M/s. Mahalaxmi Enterprises. Unfortunately, Mahendra hurt his back from a fall and was in the hospital from March 22 to March 29, 2010.
Mahendra asked for compensation of Rs. 5,95,584 from both Mahalaxmi Enterprises and their insurance company, Bajaj Allianz. The claim was initially turned down by the person responsible for Workmen’s Compensation. The rejection was only because the disability certificate was given by a doctor who did not treat Mahendra.
The main question was whether the person responsible for Workmen’s Compensation was right to reject the compensation claim just because the doctor who gave the disability certificate did not treat Mahendra.
Judge Jitendra Jain found the reasoning of the person responsible for Workmen’s Compensation to be wrong. The court pointed out that the Employees’ Compensation Act, 1923, does not say the disability certificate must be given only by the doctor who treated the patient. It just needs to be issued by a "qualified medical practitioner."
The appeal was accepted, and the court canceled the previous decision. Judge Jain instructed the person responsible for Workmen’s Compensation to look at the evidence again, especially the medical certificate, and figure out how much Mahendra’s ability to earn was affected. The questions about whether Mahendra was an employee and if the accident happened while he was working were not to be looked at again because they did not relate to whether the certificate was valid.
Mahendra is to meet with the person responsible for Workmen’s Compensation on March 23, 2026, for further steps. The compensation application is expected to be settled by June 30, 2026.
In summary, the court decided that the rejection of Mahendra's compensation claim was incorrect, as the law does not require the disability certificate to be issued by the treating doctor. The case will be reviewed again to determine the compensation Mahendra should receive based on his loss of earning capacity.
