A. VASANTHAKUMARY AND ANOTHER Vs. THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR EMPLOYEES STATE INSURANCE CORPORATION AND ANOTHER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners are the mother and son. The second petitioner secured a rank in NEET entrance examination to gain admission into the undergraduate medical course. The first petitioner is the employee covered by the Employees' State Insurance Company Act, 1949 (the Act) and its schemes. The respondents are the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (Corporation) and its officials. The first petitioner, technically termed "Insured Person," applied for "Ward of Insured Person Certificate." The application rejected, the petitioners seek a direction to the Corporation to issue the certificate under Group II, i.e, four-year slab.

(2.) The first petitioner is employer got her registered under the ESI scheme on 04.04.2013. The employer also paid the contributions from April 2013 to September 2017. Going by the date of registration, the first petitioner did not complete five years continuous insurable employment as on 01.01.2018. We may as well examine the contributions, the first petitioner's employer made: <FRM>JUDGEMENT_896_LAWS(KER)7_2018_1.html</FRM>

(3.) The first respondent Corporation has refused to issue the Certificate on the premise that the first petitioner's employer filed the returns belatedly. This Court through its judgment, dated 6.7.2018, in W.P. (C)No. 17274/2018 and connected cases, has held that delayed contribution or delayed filing of returns by the employer should not prejudice the employees' benefits. Following the same ratio, I hold that the first petitioner completed four years of continuous insurable employment. The returns, too, are filed, belatedly though. Therefore, the petitioners are entitled to the "Ward of Insured Person Certificate under Group II" . To that extent, the writ petition stands allowed.