Sections 82 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 82 requires notice of the accident and a claim within two years, with exceptions for disease and for sufficient cause. Section 83 gives special rules for seamen, air crew and those working abroad. Section 84 lets the employer have the injured employee medically examined and suspends compensation if he refuses.
No claim is entertained unless notice of the accident is given as soon as practicable and the claim is made within two years of the accident or, in a death case, within two years of the date of death (s.82(1)). Defective notice is excused in some cases and the authority may condone delay for sufficient cause. Seamen, aircrew and some workers abroad follow section 83. After notice, the employee must submit to a medical examination at no charge if the employer offers it within three days of service of notice; refusal suspends his right to compensation (s.84).
Why it matters
Limitation is where good claims are lost and where employers get caught by an unexpected late claim. Employers and claimants' advisers alike need the clock and the excuses in these three sections. If a claim is in dispute, legal consultation early can avoid missed dates. This article sits between section 81 and sections 88 to 90.
Section 82: notice and claim
The basic rule
The competent authority will not entertain a claim unless notice of the accident was given as soon as practicable after it and the claim is preferred within two years of the accident or, for death, within two years from the date of death.
Three provisos on occupational disease
| Situation | When the accident is deemed to occur / when two years run |
|---|---|
| Disease covered by s.74(3) | On the first day of continuous absence from work caused by the disablement |
| Partial disablement from such disease that does not force absence | Two years run from the day the employee gives notice of the disablement to the employer |
| Employee leaves the employment and develops symptoms within two years of cessation | Accident deemed to occur on the day the symptoms were first detected |
Excuses (s.82(2))
Want of, or a defect or irregularity in, a notice is not a bar if:
- (a) the claim is for death from an accident on the employer's premises, or at a place where the employee was working under the control of the employer or his employee, and the employee died there, or on the employer's premises, or without having left the vicinity; or
- (b) the employer, or one of several employers, or the manager of the relevant branch, knew of the accident from any other source at or about the time.
A general proviso lets the competent authority entertain and decide a claim despite no notice or late claim, if satisfied that the failure was due to sufficient cause.
Content, service and notice-books
A notice must give the name and address of the injured person, the cause of injury and the date of the accident, and be served on the employer, any one of several employers, or the person responsible for managing the relevant branch (s.82(3)). The appropriate Government may require a prescribed class of employers to keep a notice-book at their premises, accessible to injured employees and persons acting bona fide for them (s.82(4)). Service may be by delivery, registered post, electronically where possible, or entry in the notice-book (s.82(5)).
Section 83: accidents outside Indian territory
Section 83 applies, with modifications, to employees who are: (a) masters of ships or seamen; (b) captain and crew of aircraft; (c) persons recruited by companies registered in India and working abroad; and (d) persons sent abroad with motor vehicles registered under the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 as drivers, helpers, mechanics, cleaners or other employees.
| Person injured | Notice and claim may be served on |
|---|---|
| Seaman (not the master) | Master of the ship |
| Aircrew member (not the captain) | Captain of the aircraft |
| Person recruited by an Indian-registered company and working abroad | The company's local agent |
| Person sent abroad with a motor vehicle | The local agent of the vehicle's owner in the country of the accident |
If the accident and disablement began on board, a seaman or crew member need not give notice. The claim time: for death, one year after the news of death reaches the claimant; where the ship or aircraft is lost with all hands, eighteen months from the date of loss, actual or deemed. The authority may entertain a late claim for sufficient cause. Depositions taken by a Judge, Magistrate or Consular Officer, if an employee is left behind in India or abroad, are admissible in evidence on the conditions in s.83(4). No half-monthly payment is due for any period in which the ship-owner must pay maintenance of the injured master or seaman under merchant shipping law (s.83(5)). Lastly, a failure to give notice, claim or start proceedings in time is no bar if proceedings are commenced within one month of the date the State's certificate was furnished (s.83(6)).
Section 84: medical examination
- If the employer, before three days expire from service of the employee's notice, offers an examination at no charge by a medical practitioner, the employee must submit. An employee receiving half-monthly payments must also submit from time to time, but not more often than the State Government prescribes.
- Refusal or obstruction, on the employer's or the authority's requirement, suspends the right to compensation while it continues, unless he had sufficient cause (s.84(2)).
- Voluntarily leaving the vicinity before the examination period ends also suspends the right until he returns and offers himself. The medical practitioner may condone the delay and revive the right where the employee proves he could not attend due to circumstances beyond his control and could not communicate in writing (s.84(3) proviso).
- If an employee whose right is suspended dies unexamined, the authority may direct payment to his dependants (s.84(4)).
- No compensation for the period of suspension; if suspension starts within the three-day waiting period under s.76(4)(ii), the waiting period is extended by the suspension (s.84(5)).
- If he refuses a practitioner offered at no charge, or disregards instructions, and the injury is aggravated unreasonably, disablement is deemed to be of the nature and duration it would reasonably have had with proper care (s.84(6)).
A worked example
A factory worker is injured on 10 June 2026 and tells his supervisor the same day; the employer offers a medical examination at no charge on 12 June, within three days of the notice. He attends. If he had refused without cause, his compensation would have been suspended until he submitted. A claim filed at any time up to two years after 10 June 2026 is in time. One filed later would need the authority to find sufficient cause. (Dates illustrative.)
Need help with a disputed accident claim?
If a claim has been filed late, a notice is defective or an examination dispute has arisen, our legal consultation team can help you assess the position under sections 82 to 84.
Key takeaways
- Notice as soon as practicable; claim within two years of the accident or of the date of death.
- Sufficient cause lets the authority excuse a missed notice or late claim.
- Occupational disease: the clock runs from first absence, from notice of partial disablement, or from first detected symptoms within two years of leaving.
- Seamen, aircrew and workers abroad: notice to master, captain or local agent; death claims one year from news; lost vessel eighteen months.
- Medical examination offered within three days of notice is compulsory; refusal suspends compensation.
Read next
- Sections 79 to 81: Review, commutation and distribution of compensation
- Sections 85 to 87: Contracting, remedies against third parties and insolvency
- Sections 93 to 95: Form of application, deposits and powers of competent authority
- Workmen Compensation vs ESI: which applies
Disclaimer: Based on the Code on Social Security, 2020 (as enacted) and, where noted, the Code on Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 (G.S.R. 344(E), 8 May 2026), as on 30 September 2026. The Code is in force from 21 November 2025; some provisions may be notified later, and State Governments make their own rules for establishments where the State is the appropriate Government. Verify the current position before acting.