Eligibility for admission as 'Ward of Insured Person' does not require receipt of benefits under the ESI Act, but rather being eligible as defined.

JUDGMENT The petitioners have approached this Court, being aggrieved by Ext.P5 communication through which the application submitted by the 2^nd petitioner for certification as the ward of a person insured under the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 (in short ‘the ESI Act’) has been rejected by the Competent Authority. The certificate certifying the 2^nd petitioner to be the ‘Ward of an Insured Person’ was sought for applying to seats reserved for wards of insured persons in ESIC Medical Colleges for the academic year 2025-2026. According to the petitioners, the 1^st petitioner, who is the mother of the 2^nd petitioner, is an insured person under the ESI Act, and the 2^nd petitioner was, therefore, entitled to the benefit of the quota reserved for wards of insured persons in terms of Ext.P1 notification.

2. Sri. P. Ramakrishnan, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, refers to the terms of Ext.P1 and contends that the denial of the certificate, which was necessary for the purposes of making an application for admission to the MBBS course in ESIC Medical Colleges under the quota reserved for wards of insured persons, cannot be sustained in law. It is pointed out that for the previous year, i.e for 2024-2025, the 2^nd petitioner had been issued with a ‘Ward of Insured Person’ certificate, and the same is on record as Ext.P4. It is submitted that no specific reason is stated in Ext.P5 except that the genuineness of the case is reported to be doubtful, and coverage itself is not substantiated. The learned counsel also referred to the provisions of Sections 2 (6A) and 2(11) of the ESI Act to contend that the 2^nd petitioner qualifies for the issuance of a ‘Ward of Insured Person’ certificate, and the same could not be denied to him under any circumstances. It is submitted that by an interim order dated 23.08.2025, this Court had directed the issuance of a certificate provisionally and on the issuance of the provisional certificate, the 2^nd petitioner has been granted admission to a seat reserved for wards of insured persons, and he is presently undergoing the MBBS course at the ESIC Medical College, Bangalore. It is also pointed out that the last date for admission to the MBBS course for the academic year 2025-2026 (as fixed by the National Medical Council) has already passed and if at all this Court were to find that the 2^nd petitioner is not entitled to be admitted in the quota reserved for wards of insured persons, the seat will go vacant and will not benefit any other person.

3. Sri. T. V. Ajayakumar, the learned counsel appearing for the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the ESI Corporation), opposes the grant of any relief to the petitioners. The learned counsel appearing for the 1^st respondent referred to the provisions of Clause (9) of Annexure 1 to Ext.P1, to the definition of “family” under Section 2 (11) of the ESI Act, and the provisions of Sections 46 and 56 of the ESI Act to contend that the 2^nd petitioner cannot be granted a certificate as the ‘Ward of Insured Person’. It is pointed out that in terms of Clause (9), the term ‘Ward of Insured person’ means children or child of an insured person, who are/is eligible for benefits under the ESI Act. The learned counsel referred to the provisions of and 66 of the ESI Act in extenso to establish that the 2^nd petitioner is not a person who is eligible for any benefit under the ESI Act. In other words, it is submitted that only persons who are entitled to benefits under the ESI Act are entitled to the benefit of