The Supreme Court has set aside an order of the Rajasthan High Court denying the insurance cover to a man employed as "helper" terming the order as wholly unjustified.
A bench of justices Hemant Gupta and V Ramasubramanian said there is no clear demarcation of duties of helper and cleaner.
"We have heard counsel for the parties and find that the high court has accepted appeal on a make-believe argument that cleaner or helper engaged by the employer are engaged in two different duties and that a helper is not covered by the insurance policy.
"The high court has recorded a finding that admittedly deceased was a helper. In the absence of any clear demarcation of duties of a helper or a cleaner and in view of the fact that helper and cleaner are interchangeably used, therefore, declining claim for the reason that deceased was engaged as a helper and not cleaner is wholly unjustified," it said.
The top court was hearing an appeal filed against an order of Rajasthan High Court whereby the appeal of the insurance company under Section 30 of the Employees Compensation Act, 1923 was allowed.