One of my clients recently had a case which I am explaining below and if you are stuck in such similar situation, here is what to do.
Note: Due to attorney-client privilege, I cannot disclose complete case details or identify the actual parties involved. However, I am sharing the essential facts and legal approach so that if you find yourself in a similar situation, you can understand the available solutions and legal remedies.
A Nagpur family hired a local middleman and a painting contractor in early March 2025 to repaint the exterior of their home after nearly fifteen years. No formal contract was signed. Everything ran on verbal agreement and mutual trust, which is frankly how most such arrangements work in this country. The homeowner, Kavita Reddy, had clearly communicated to the contractor, one Suresh Pawar, that all workers must use safety equipment at height — and Pawar acknowledged this on a voice recording and agreed to take personal responsibility for the work, accepting the same agreed payment.
The middleman, Rajan Bhosale, had even arranged a safety harness and reminded workers daily to use it. One afternoon around 18 March 2025, a worker named Dinesh Kamble climbed to the second-floor level without wearing the harness despite being told to do so. He lost his footing, fell, and fractured bones in two places.
What followed was worse than the accident itself. A labour union pressured Kavita and her husband to pay a substantial amount — first citing humanitarian reasons, then escalating demands to several lakhs. When the family said they couldn't afford that sum, the union filed an FIR against them. Kavita's initial attempts to address the matter through the middleman and through a general practitioner advocate went nowhere. She eventually approached Advocate Sudhir Rao, whose focused experience in workmen liability and criminal negligence matters led to a structured legal strategy. The voice recording, the safety harness procurement evidence, and Pawar's contractual acknowledgment were properly placed on record, anticipatory bail was secured before any coercive action could be taken, and the criminal exposure was substantially narrowed.
Advice in Such Cases
Consult with Lawyer: The very basic and important step to start is talk to Lawyer / advocate. You should not hesitate in paying his consultation fee i.e. might be in range of Rs. 10,000 to 50,000 depends case to case. He is helping you in this situation to come out. He is expert in the domain and can help you explain the procedure which you might have never explored. A good lawyer can get the issues resolved much faster than you think.
Preserve every piece of evidence immediately: Don't delete voice recordings, WhatsApp messages, photographs, or any communication with the contractor or middleman. This evidence is the foundation of your defence. Back it up across multiple devices right now — not tomorrow, now.
Do not negotiate directly with the union or the victim's family without legal counsel: Any statement you make or any amount you voluntarily offer can be used to establish implied admission of liability. Let your advocate handle all communication from this point forward. And here's the thing — even a casual sympathetic remark can hurt you in court.
Understand that this type of matter sits at the intersection of criminal law and labour law: Procedural strategy, the framing of your defence, and the admissibility of the voice recording all require an advocate who regularly handles workmen compensation and criminal negligence cases together. A general practitioner may not be fully familiar with how contributory negligence of the worker interacts with the house owner's obligations under the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923 — and that gap can cost you dearly.
Applicable Sections of Law
- Section 125 BNS (Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita): Covers act endangering life or personal safety of others — potentially invoked against the house owner or contractor if negligence in maintaining safe working conditions is alleged.
- Section 106 BNS: Deals with causing death by negligence. If the injuries were to prove fatal, this section carries serious consequences. Even in injury cases, police may invoke it at the investigation stage.
- Employees' Compensation Act, 1923 (Section 3): Imposes statutory liability on an employer to compensate a workman for injury arising out of and in the course of employment — but contributory negligence and defiance of safety instructions are recognised defences under Section 3(1) proviso.
- Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996: Imposes safety obligations on those who engage construction workers. Absence of a formal contract does not automatically exempt the house owner from its purview in certain circumstances.
Punishment and Penalties
- Section 125 BNS: Imprisonment up to three months, or fine up to Rs. 2,500, or both. Cognizable, bailable, and compoundable with the permission of the court.
- Section 106 BNS (negligent act causing death): Imprisonment up to two years, or fine, or both. Cognizable, bailable.
- Employees' Compensation Act, Section 3: Civil in nature — compensatory, not penal. Compensation amount determined by the Commissioner under the Act based on wages and nature of injury.
- Make no mistake: even where sections carry relatively modest criminal penalties, the associated bail proceedings, investigations, and court appearances impose serious practical burden on accused persons who are unprepared.
Jurisdiction — Where to File the Case
For the criminal FIR, jurisdiction lies with the police station within whose territorial limits the accident occurred. The matter would be tried before the Judicial Magistrate of First Class (JMFC) having jurisdiction over that area, given the nature of the offences involved.
For compensation claims under the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923, the appropriate forum is the Commissioner for Employees' Compensation in the district where the accident occurred or where the workman ordinarily resides. In Nagpur, this falls under the jurisdiction of the designated Labour Court or Commissioner appointed under the Act. Now, before you act — choosing the right forum and filing in the correct jurisdiction can significantly affect timelines and strategy. Don't treat this as a minor procedural detail.
What if Police Refuse to File FIR?
In this type of case, the situation is reversed — the FIR has already been filed against the house owner. But if any related complaint (say, by the owner against extortion or coercion by the union) is refused, here's what you can do:
- Submit a written complaint to the Superintendent of Police under Section 173(4) BNSS, requesting direction to register the FIR.
- File a private complaint directly before the Judicial Magistrate under Section 175(3) BNSS if the SP does not act within a reasonable time.
- Approach the High Court by way of a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution as a last resort, seeking a direction to register the FIR.
- Document every refusal in writing — dated, with the name and rank of the officer involved.
Rights of the Accused
- Right against self-incrimination (Article 20(3)): You can't be compelled to be a witness against yourself. Don't make any statement to police without your advocate present.
- Right to legal representation (Article 22): You have the right to be defended by an advocate of your choice from the moment of arrest.
- Right to be produced before a Magistrate within 24 hours of arrest, as guaranteed under Article 22(2) and Section 57 BNSS.
- Right to a copy of the FIR: Under Section 173(2) BNSS, you're entitled to receive a free copy of the FIR.
- Right to know grounds of arrest: The arresting officer must inform you of the grounds at the time of arrest — this is a constitutional requirement, not a courtesy.
Bail Provisions
The offences likely invoked — Section 125 BNS and Section 106 BNS — are bailable in nature. Bail can be claimed as a matter of right at the police station itself at the time of arrest. That said, given the union pressure and the FIR already filed, anticipatory bail under Section 482 BNSS before the Sessions Court is strongly advisable to pre-empt any custodial harassment.
Typical bail conditions include executing a personal bond, surrendering the passport if travel abroad is likely, and appearing before the investigating officer as and when required. And here's the thing — applying for anticipatory bail early, before any summons or notice is received, gives the court a cleaner picture and avoids the urgency premium that last-minute applications carry.
Quashing of FIR / Case
Under Section 528 BNSS, the High Court holds inherent powers to quash an FIR where its continuation would amount to an abuse of the process of court. In this case, there are solid grounds to explore quashing. The voice recording shows the contractor accepted full responsibility, the safety harness was provided and the worker refused it, and the FIR appears to have been filed primarily under union pressure rather than on any sustainable legal basis.
Grounds typically accepted for quashing include absence of a prima facie offence, manifest mala fide intent behind the complaint, and the fact that the matter is essentially civil or compensatory in nature. The Supreme Court's guidance in State of Haryana v. Bhajan Lal, 1992 remains the foundational framework for evaluating such applications. A well-prepared quashing petition with the voice recording and safety evidence can be a powerful tool here. Frankly, in a case with this fact pattern, quashing deserves serious consideration from day one.
If You Are the Victim
- File a claim petition before the Commissioner for Employees' Compensation under Section 10 of the Employees' Compensation Act, 1923 in the district where the accident occurred.
- Preserve all medical records, hospital bills, discharge summaries, and prescriptions from the date of the accident — these are primary evidence for computing compensation.
- Obtain a certificate from the treating doctor specifying the nature and percentage of permanent disability, if any, as this directly affects the compensation formula.
- Don't accept any informal lump-sum payment from the contractor or the house owner without obtaining a proper legal release deed reviewed by your advocate — you may inadvertently settle for far less than what the law entitles you to.
- A formal complaint before the local Labour Enforcement Officer regarding violation of the Building and Other Construction Workers Act, 1996 can also strengthen your position.
Documents You Must Keep Ready
- Aadhaar card and PAN card of the house owner(s) for identity and address proof
- Voice recording of the contractor accepting risk and responsibility (secure original file with metadata intact)
- Photographs and receipts proving the safety harness was purchased and made available
- WhatsApp or SMS communication between the house owner, middleman, and contractor about safety instructions
- Medical reports, hospital bills, and treatment records for the injured worker
- Any payment receipts given to the contractor or the worker (to establish the employment chain)
- Copy of the FIR as filed by the complainant under Section 173(2) BNSS
- Witness details — names and contact information of anyone present at the site who saw the worker refuse the harness
What Evidence Is Required?
- Voice recording (primary evidence): The contractor's recorded admission of taking responsibility for risks is perhaps the single most important piece of evidence. Its admissibility under Section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023 must be established through proper electronic evidence certification.
- Safety harness purchase receipt: Proves that the house owner fulfilled the duty of care by making equipment available.
- Eyewitness testimony: Any co-worker or neighbour who saw Dinesh Kamble refuse the safety belt on the day of the accident.
- Medical evidence: Hospital records establishing the nature and severity of the injury — relevant both to the criminal case and any compensation claim.
- Site photographs or CCTV footage from the date of the accident, if available from nearby establishments.
- Communication records (WhatsApp, SMS): Messages from the middleman to the contractor about daily safety reminders constitute secondary but corroborative evidence.
- Contractor's labour engagement records: To establish that the workers were employees of the contractor, not direct employees of the house owner — this is critical to limiting the owner's statutory liability.
How the Police Behave in Such Cases
In worker accident cases where a union files an FIR, police often register the case under pressure without fully evaluating whether the house owner is the actual employer or whether contributory negligence of the worker is clearly on record. They may call the house owner for questioning early in the process. There's a tendency to treat the matter as one-sided until the defence presents a structured counter-narrative — and by then, some damage may already be done. Police may also attempt to invoke sections more serious than the facts warrant. Having an advocate present during all police interactions, and submitting a detailed representation with supporting evidence at the earliest stage, is essential to steering the investigation correctly.
Timeline of Legal Process
- Week 1-2: FIR registration and initial investigation begins. Anticipatory bail application filed before Sessions Court.
- Week 2-4: Police may call accused for questioning. Advocate submits representation with voice recording and supporting evidence to the investigating officer.
- Month 1-3: Chargesheet filed before Magistrate (police have 60 days under Section 193 BNSS for bailable offences; failure to file chargesheet within this period entitles the accused to default bail).
- Month 3-6: Court takes cognizance; summons issued to accused. High Court quashing petition may be filed in parallel if grounds are strong.
- Month 6-12: Framing of charges (or discharge application). Trial commences with examination of witnesses.
- Year 1-3: Trial proceedings, cross-examination, arguments. Judgment delivered.
- Post-judgment: Appeal before Sessions Court or High Court if required.
Advocate Sudhir Rao, Supreme Court of India