CHRISTOPHER Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Is an "insured person" under the employees' State Insurance Act, 1948, hereinafter referred to as the "act", to be deprived of his entitlement to medical benefits after retirement on the ground that, for a lap during the period of his employment, the employer enjoyed an order of exemption from the applicability of the provisions of the Act, and thereafter, failed to submit returns

(2.) On August 11, 1966, the petitioner entered the service of the 4th respondent. He retired from service on October 31, 2002, long after that establishment was covered under the act from March 30, 1975. His request for medical benefits in terms of Rule 61 of the employees' State Insurance (Central) Rules, 1950, the "rules", for short, has been rejected by the ESI Corporation on the ground that the establishment was exempted from the provisions of the Act from April 1, 1997 to march 31, 1999 and that the employer had not filed returns from April 1, 1999 onwards.

(3.) Petitioner's employment was in an establishment to which the Act applied and therefore, an "insurable employment" in terms of Section 2 (13-A) of the Act. He is a person, who was an employee in respect of whom contributions were payable under the Act and who, by reason thereof, is entitled to the benefits of the provisions of the Act. Therefore, he is an "insured person" in terms of Section 2 (14) of the Act.