KISHORE LAL vs CHAIRMAN E.S.I.CORPORATION

The Supreme Court held that the services provided by the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) under the Employees’ State Insurance Act, 1948 are gratuitous and thus fall outside the definition of 'consumer' under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986. The Court affirmed the decisions of the lower forums which relied on precedents such as Birbal Singh v. ESI Corporation and Indian Medical Association v. V.P. Shantha, concluding that the appellant could not seek redress under the CP Act for alleged medical negligence. The appeal was dismissed, reinforcing the legal principle that government-provided medical services do not constitute a service for consideration under the CP Act.