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The NCLAT Chennai Bench held ESI contributions are trust assets excluded from liquidation estate under IBC Sec 36(4)(a)(i), overturning a plan paying only 1% of the claim and affirming priority for employees' statutory dues in insolvency.
Calcutta HC quashed garnishee orders against SBI, holding bank cannot be deemed a defaulter under ESI Act if the customer’s account is inoperative and zero-balance, shielding banks from ESI liability, curbing recovery officer’s power to attach funds.
Claimants are entitled to the full compensation awarded under the Motor Vehicles Act without any deduction for benefits received under the Employees' State Insurance Scheme. The court clarified that Section 53 only limits the use of ESI benefits for medical expenses, not the total compensation payable. This ruling benefits all motor accident victims who are also ESI beneficiaries.
Madras High Court rules that a BIFR-sanctioned rehabilitation scheme extinguishes ESI Corporation's right to recover waived contributions, interest, and damages, even if ESIC was not a party to the BIFR proceedings. The judgment bars revival of such claims post-scheme implementation, reinforcing the finality of statutory waivers in industrial revival schemes.
The Calcutta High Court ruled that artisans in Khadi institutions with 10 or more workers are covered under the ESI Act if their compensation is structured as payroll allowances with PF deductions, regardless of claims of self-employment. This sets a critical precedent for social security coverage in the unorganized sector, impacting thousands of artisanal units across India that rely on informal payment models.