46 Benefits

Benefits.

46. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the insured persons, their dependents or the persons hereinafter mentioned, as the case may be, shall be entitled to the following benefits, namely,--

(a) periodical payments to any insured person in case of his sickness certified by a duly appointed medical practitioner or by any other person possessing such qualifications and experience as the Corporation may, by regulations, specify in this behalf (hereinafter referred to as sickness benefit);

(b) periodical payments to an insured woman in case of confinement or miscarriage, or sickness arising out of pregnancy, confinement, premature birth of child or miscarriage, such woman being certified to be eligible for such payments by an authority specified in this behalf by the regulations (hereinafter referred to as maternity benefit;

(c) periodical payments to an insured person suffering from disablement as a result of an employment injury sustained as an employee under this Act and certified to be eligible for such payments by an authority specified in this behalf by the regulations (hereinafter referred to as disablement benefit);

(d) periodical payments to such dependants of an insured person who dies as a result of an employment injury sustained as an employee under this Act, as are entitled to compensation under this Act (hereinafter referred to as dependants' benefit);

(e) medical treatment for and attendance on insured persons (hereinafter referred to as medical benefit); and

(f) payment to the eldest surviving member of the family of an insured person who has died, towards the expenditure on the funeral of the deceased insured person or, where the insured person did not have a family or was not living with his family at the time of his death, to the person who actually incurs the expenditure on the funeral of the deceased insured person (to be known as funeral expenses):

PROVIDED that the amount of such payment shall not exceed such amount as may be prescribed by the Central Government and the claim for such payment shall be made within three months of the death of the insured person or within such extended period as the Corporation or any officer or authority authorised by it in this behalf may allow.

(2) The Corporation may, at the request of the appropriate government, and subject to such conditions as may be laid down in the regulations, extend the medical benefit to the family of an insured person.

COMMENTS

Merely because the benefits to be received are postponed it cannot amount that there is no quid pro quo. Only after the availability of sufficient nucleus there can be the expectation of compensating return.-- Gasket Radiators Ltd. v. ESI Corporation 1980 (50) FLR 426.

The Corporation is conferred with the power to recover arrears of contributions from the employer along with damages/interest on the contribution that remained due. Correspondingly it is under an obligation to pay with interest the arrears of benefits to the insured employees or his dependents.-- ESI Corporation v. Bhag Singh 1989 (2) LLJ 126.