CHAPTER VI
ADJUDICATION OF DISPUTE AND CLAIMS
74.
Constitution of Employees' Insurance Court. –
(1) The State Government shall, by notification in the Official
Gazette, constitute an Employees' Insurance Court for such local area
as may be specified in the notification.
(2) The Court shall consist of such number of Judges as the State
Government may think fit.
(3) Any person who is or has been a judicial officer or is a legal
practitioner of five years' standing shall be qualified to be a Judge
of the Employees' lnsurance Court.
(4) The State Government may appoint the same Court for two or
more local areas or two or more Courts for the same local area.
(5) Where more than one Court has been appointed for the same local
area, the State Government may by general or special order regulate
the distribution of business between them.
75.
Matters to be decided by Employees' Insurance Court.
–
(1) If any question or dispute arises as to-
(a) Whether any person is an employee within the meaning of this
Act or whether he is liable to pay the employee's contribution, or
(b) The rate of wages or average daily wages of an employee for
the purposes of this Act, or
(c) The rate of contribution payable by a principal employer in
respect of any employee, or
(d) The person who is or was the principal employer in respect
of any employee, or
(e) The right of any person to any benefit and as to the amount
and duration thereof, or
l[(ee) any direction issued
by the Corporation under section 55A on a review of any payment of
dependents' benefits, or]
2*
* * * *
(g) Any other matter which is in dispute between a principal employer
and the Corporation, or between a principal employer and an immediate
employer or between a person and the Corporation or between an employee
and a principal or immediate employer, in respect of any contribution
or benefit or other dues payable or recoverable under this Act, 3[or
any other matter required to be or which may be decided by the Employees'
lnsurance Court under this Act],
Such question or dispute 3[subject
to the provisions of sub-section (2A) shall be decided by the Employees'
Insurance Court in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(2) 4[Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2A), the
following claims] shall be decided by the Employees' insurance Court,
namely: -
(a) Claim for the recovery of contributions from the principal
employer;
(b) Claim by a principal employer to recover contributions from
any immediate employer;
5* * * * *
(d) Claim against a principal employer under section 68;
(e)
Claim under section 70 for the recovery of the value or amount of
the benefits received by a person when he is not lawfully entitled
thereto; and
(f)
Any claim for the recovery of any benefit admissible under this Act.
6[(2A) If in any proceedings
before the Employees' Insurance Court a disablement question arises
and the decision of a medical board or a medical appeal tribunal has
not been obtained on the same and the decision of such question is
necessary for the determination of the claim or question before the
Employees' Insurance Court, that Court shall direct the Corporation
to have the question decided by this Act and shall thereafter proceed
with the determination of the claim or question before it in accordance
with the decision of the medical board or the medical appeal tribunal,
as the case may be, except where an appeal has been filed before the
Employees' Insurance Court under sub-section (2) of section 54A in
which case the Employees' Insurance Court may itself determine all
the issues arising before it.]
7[(2B) No matter which is in
dispute between a principal employer and the Corporation in respect
of any contribution or any other dues shall be raised by the principal
employer in the Employees' Insurance Court unless he has deposited
with the Court fifty per cent. of the amount due from him as claimed
by the Corporation:
Provided that the Court may,
for reasons to be recorded in writing, waive or reduce the amount
to be deposited under this sub-section.]
(3) No Civil Court shall have jurisdiction to decide or deal with
any question or dispute as aforesaid or to adjudicate on any liability
which by or under this Act is to be decided by 8[a medical
board, or by a medical appeal tribunal or by the Employees' Insurance
Court].
1. Subs. by Act No. 44 of 1966, s. 32, for the original cl. (w.e.f.
28-1-1968).
2. Cl. (o omitted by Act No. 44 of 1966, s. 32, (w.e.f. 28-1-1968).
3. Ins. by Act No. 44 of 1966, s. 32, (w.e.f. 28-1-1968).
4. Subs. by Act No. 44 of 1966, s. 32, for “The following claims”
(w.e.f. 28-1-1968);
5. Cl. (c) omitted by Act No. 44 of 1966, s. 32 (w.e.f. 28-1-1968).
6. Ins. by Act No. 44 of 1966, s. 32, (w.e.f. 28-1-1968).
7. Ins. by Act No. 29 of 1989, s. 29, (w.e.f. 20-10-1989).
8. Subs. by Act No. 44 of 1966, s. 32, for “the Employees' Insurance
Court” (w.e.f. 28-11968).
76.
Institution of proceedings, etc.-
(l) Subject to the provisions of this Act and any rules made by
the State Government, all proceedings before the Employees' Insurance
Court shall be instituted in the Court appointed for the local area
in which the insured person was working at the time the question or
dispute arose.
(2) If the Court is satisfied that any matter arising out of any
proceeding pending before it can be more conveniently dealt with by
any other Employees' Insurance Court in the same State, it may, subject
to any rules made by the State Government in this behalf, order such
matter to be transferred to such other Court for disposal and shall
forthwith transmit to such other Court the records connected with
that matter.
(3) The State Government may transfer any matter pending before
any Employees' Insurance Court in the State to any such Court in another
State with the consent of the State Government of that State.
(4) The Court to which any matter is transferred under sub-section
(2) or sub-section (3) shall continue the proceedings as if they had
been originally instituted in it.
77.
Commencement of proceedings. –
(l) The proceedings before an Employees' Insurance Court shall
be commenced by application.
1[(1a) Every such application shall be made within a period
of three years from the date on which the cause of action arose.
Explanation. -For the purpose of this sub-section,
-
(a) The cause of action in respect of a claim for benefit shall
not be deemed to arise unless the insured person or in the case of
dependents' benefit, the dependents of the insured person claims or
claim that benefit in accordance which the regulations made in that
behalf within a period twelve months after the claim became due or
within such further period as the Employees' Insurance Court may allow
on grounds which appear to it to be reasonable;
2[(b) The cause of action in respect of a claim by the Corporation
for recovering contributions (including interest and damages) from
the principal employer shall be deemed to have arisen on the date
on which such claim is made by the Corporation for the first time:
Provided that no claim shall
be made by the Corporation after five years of the period to which
the claim relates;
(c) The cause of action in respect of a claim by the principal
employer for recovering contributions from an immediate employer shall
not be deemed to arise till the date by which the evidence of contributions
having been paid is due to be received by the Corporation under the
regulations.11
(2) Every such application shall be in such form and shall contain
such particulars and shall be accompanied by such fee, if any, as
may be prescribed by rules made by the State Government in consultation
with the Corporation.
1. Ins. by Act No. 44 of 1966, s. 33, (w.e.f. 28-1-1968).
2. Subs. for clause (b) by Act No. 24 of 1989,
s.30, (w.e.f. 20-10-1989).
78.
Powers of Employees' Insurance Court. –
(1) The Employees' Insurance Court shall have all the powers of
a Civil Court for the purposes of summoning and enforcing the attendance
of witnesses, compelling the discovery and production of documents
and material objects, administering oath and recording evidence and
such Court shall be deemed to be a Civil Court within the meaning
of 1[section 195 and Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
1973 (2 of 1974)].
(2) The Employees' Insurance Court shall follow such procedure
as may be prescribed by rules made by the State Government.
(3) All costs incidental to any proceeding before an Employees'
Insurance Court shall, subject to such rules as may be made in this
behalf by the State Government, be in the discretion of the Court.
(4) An order of the Employees' Insurance Court shall be enforceable
as if it were a decree passed in a suit by a Civil Court.
1. Subs. by Act No. 45 of 1984, s. 9, for “section 195 and
Chapter XXXV of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898” (w.e. f. 27-1-1985).
79. Appearance by legal practitioners, etc.-Any
application, appearance or act required to be made or done by any
person to or before an Employees' Insurance Court (other than appearance
of a person required for the purpose of his examination as a witness)
may be made or done by a legal practitioner or by an officer of a
registered trade union authorized in writing by such person or with
the permission of the Court, by any other person so authorized.
80. [Benefit not admissible unless claimed in time.]Rep.
by the Employees' State Insurance (Amendment) Act, 1966 (44 of 1966),
s. 34 (w.e.f. 28-1-1968).
81. Reference to High Court. -An Employees'
Insurance Court may submit any question of law for the decision of
the High Court and if it does so shall decide the question pending
before it in accordance with such decision.
82. Appeal. -
(1) Save as expressly provided in this section, no appeal shall
he from an orde of an Employees' lnsurance Court.
(2) An appeal shall lie to the High Court from an order of an Employees'
lnsurance Court if it involves a substantial question of law.
(3) The period of limitation for an appeal under this section shall
be sixty days'
(4) The provisions of sections 5 and 12 of the 1[Limitation
Act, 1963 (36 of 1963)] -shall apply to appeals under this section.
1. Subs. for “Indian Limitation Act, 1908 (9 of l908)”by Act
No.29 of l989, s.31, (w.e.f. 20-10-1989).
83. Stay of payment pending appeal,
- Where the Corporation has Presented an appeal against an order of
the Employees' Insurance Court, that Court may, and if so directed
by the High Court, shall, pending the decision of the appeal, withhold
the payment of any sum directed to be paid by the order appealed against.