Section 73: Reports of fatal accidents and serious bodily injuries
Reviewed by Finin2min Editorial Desk · Last reviewed 30 August 2026
Section 73 — Governs reports of fatal accidents and serious bodily injuries and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: (1) Where, by any law for the time being in force, notice is required to be given to any authority, by or on behalf of an employer, of any accident occurring in his premises which results in death or serious bodily injury, the…
The Code was commenced in stages: section 142 had earlier commencement, S.O. 5319(E) brought the specified provisions into force from 21 November 2025, and later commencement instruments must be read with the current India Code footnotes for the remaining clauses.
Provision / India Code ↗ · Official Act PDF ↗ · 2026 Central Rules ↗
Finin2min analysis — what the section actually does
Operative clauses
- (1) Where, by any law for the time being in force, notice is required to be given to any authority, by or on behalf of an employer, of any accident occurring in his premises which results in death or serious bodily injury, the person required to give the notice shall, within seven days of the death or serious bodily injury, send a report to the competent authority giving the circumstances attending the death or…
- Provided that where the State Government has so specified, the person required to give the notice may instead of sending such report to the competent authority send it to the authority to whom he is required to give the notice.
- (2) The State Government may, by notification, extend the provisions of sub-section (1) to any class of premises other than those coming within the scope of that sub-section, and may, by such notification, specify the persons who shall send the report to the competent authority.
- (3) Nothing in this section shall apply to establishments to which Chapter IV, relating to Employees' State Insurance Corporation, applies.
Provisos, explanations & qualifications
- Provided that where the State Government has so specified, the person required to give the notice may instead of sending such report to the competent authority send it to the authority to whom he is required to give the notice.
- Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section, “serious bodily injury” means an injury which involves, or in all probability will involve the permanent loss of the use of, or permanent injury to, any limb, or the permanent loss of or injury to the sight or hearing, or the fracture of any limb, or the enforced absence of the injured person from work…
Thresholds and timelines in the text
- Reports of fatal accidents and serious bodily injuries.—(1) Where, by any law for the time being in force, notice is required to be given to any authority, by or on behalf of an employer, of any accident occurring in his premises which results in death or serious bodily injury, the person required to give the notice shall, within seven days of the death…
- Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section, “serious bodily injury” means an injury which involves, or in all probability will involve the permanent loss of the use of, or permanent injury to, any limb, or the permanent loss of or injury to the sight or hearing, or the fracture of any limb, or the enforced absence of the injured person from work…
Actors expressly appearing in the text
Employer, Employee / worker, State Government, Authority / officer, Corporation / EPFO / Board
Full statutory text — Section 73
73. Reports of fatal accidents and serious bodily injuries.—(1) Where, by any law for the time being
in force, notice is required to be given to any authority, by or on behalf of an employer, of any accident
occurring in his premises which results in death or serious bodily injury, the person required to give the
notice shall, within seven days of the death or serious bodily injury, send a report to the competent authority
giving the circumstances attending the death or serious bodily injury:
Provided that where the State Government has so specified, the person required to give the notice may
instead of sending such report to the competent authority send it to the authority to whom he is required to
give the notice.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this sub-section, “serious bodily injury” means an injury which
involves, or in all probability will involve the permanent loss of the use of, or permanent injury to, any
limb, or the permanent loss of or injury to the sight or hearing, or the fracture of any limb, or the enforced
absence of the injured person from work for a period exceeding twenty days.
(2) The State Government may, by notification, extend the provisions of sub-section (1) to any class of
premises other than those coming within the scope of that sub-section, and may, by such notification,
specify the persons who shall send the report to the competent authority.
(3) Nothing in this section shall apply to establishments to which Chapter IV, relating to Employees'
State Insurance Corporation, applies.How to apply this provision
- Primary statutory test — (1) Where, by any law for the time being in force, notice is required to be given to any authority, by or on behalf of an employer, of any accident occurring in his premises which results in death or serious bodily injury, the person required to give the notice shall, within seven days of the death or serious bodily injury, send a report to the competent authority giving the circumstances attending the death or…
- Additional operative limb — Provided that where the State Government has so specified, the person required to give the notice may instead of sending such report to the competent authority send it to the authority to whom he is required to give the notice.
- Qualification / exception to test — Provided that where the State Government has so specified, the person required to give the notice may instead of sending such report to the competent authority send it to the authority to whom he is required to give the notice.
- Numerical or timing control — Reports of fatal accidents and serious bodily injuries.—(1) Where, by any law for the time being in force, notice is required to be given to any authority, by or on behalf of an employer, of any accident occurring in his premises which results in death or serious bodily injury, the person required to give the notice shall, within seven days of the death…
- Central Rule mapping — 63. Read the mapped provision together with this text rather than treating the concordance as a substitute for it.
- Prescribed-form link recorded in the corpus — XXX. Confirm the current notified form/version before filing.
Rules, forms and cross-references
Direct 2026 Central Rule mapping
Forms mapped
XXX
Other sections cited in this text
Related Labour Hub resources
A direct concordance is not exhaustive. Central/State jurisdiction, schemes, authority appointments, saved instruments and later notifications may change the practical route without changing the section wording.
Worked example
For a worker/member seeking a benefit connected with reports of fatal accidents and serious bodily injuries, the file should show coverage, service/contribution facts, the rule/scheme and prescribed form, and the calculation/payment. One statutory point to test is: “Reports of fatal accidents and serious bodily injuries.—(1) Where, by any law for the time being in force, notice is required to be given to any authority, by or on behalf of an employer, of any accident occurring in his premises which results in death or serious bodily injury, t” Also test the express qualification/proviso before concluding the result. Read the mapped Central Rule(s) 63. Use the current notified XXX where the process requires it.
Illustration only; it is not statutory text or a substitute for applying the actual facts, jurisdiction, current rule/scheme and official instrument.
Q&A — Section 73
What does Section 73 of the Social Security Code cover?
Section 73 — Governs reports of fatal accidents and serious bodily injuries and the rights, duties, powers or procedure expressly stated in this section. Key operative text: (1) Where, by any law for the time being in force, notice is required to be given to any authority, by or on behalf of an employer, of any accident occurring in his premises which results in death or serious bodily injury, the…
What is the main legal requirement or power in Section 73?
The first operative clause identified from the official text is: “(1) Where, by any law for the time being in force, notice is required to be given to any authority, by or on behalf of an employer, of any accident occurring in his premises which results in death or serious bodily injury, the person required to give the notice shall, within seven days of the death or serious bodily injury, send a report to the competent authority giving the circumstances attending the death or…” Read it with the remaining subsections and any proviso below.
Does Section 73 contain a proviso or explanation?
Yes. A qualification extracted from the official text is: “Provided that where the State Government has so specified, the person required to give the notice may instead of sending such report to the competent authority send it to the authority to whom he is required to give the notice.”
What time limit, percentage or amount appears in Section 73?
The provision contains this numerical/time expression: “Reports of fatal accidents and serious bodily injuries.—(1) Where, by any law for the time being in force, notice is required to be given to any authority, by or on behalf of an employer, of any accident occurring in his premises which results in death or serious bodily injury, the person required to give the notice shall, within seven days of the death…” Apply it only in the clause and context in which it appears.
Which 2026 Central Rules are linked to Section 73?
The current concordance maps Section 73 to Central Rule(s) 63.
Is a prescribed form mapped to Section 73?
The current corpus records: XXX. Confirm the current notified version before filing or service.
Is Section 73 currently operative?
The Code was commenced in stages: section 142 had earlier commencement, S.O. 5319(E) brought the specified provisions into force from 21 November 2025, and later commencement instruments must be read with the current India Code footnotes for the remaining clauses.
Source & verification trail
Act: Code on Social Security, 2020 — official India Code PDF ↗
Central Rules: Social Security (Central) Rules, 2026 — G.S.R. 344(E), 8 May 2026 ↗
Official library: Ministry of Labour & Employment — Labour Codes ↗
Source check: 20 August 2026. Individual professional interpretation should be re-reviewed when the section, rules, notification, scheme, State overlay or controlling judgment changes.