9911796707
TMI Blog1984 (3) TMI 441X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s Provident Fund Membership No. was MP-3612. His contributions were regularly deducted from November, 1952 upto the date of his retirement on 21-12-1980. On his retirement from service the petitioner was entitled to payment of the full amount of his provident fund by the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, Indore. However, when the payment was made, the petitioner was not paid the full amount due to him. He was told that the employer has not deposited employee's contribution for 17 months and employer's contribution for 26 months during 1970-71 and 1972-73. The petitioner was, therefore, told that the amount would not be paid until it is realised by the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner from the employer. The undertaking of M/s. Kalyanmal Mills Ltd., was nationalised under the Sick Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Act, and its ownership was vested in the National Textile Corporation, with effect from 1-4-1974. According to the petitioner there are several employees of Kalyanmal Mills and other nationalised textile mills in Indore who have not been paid their full amount of provident fund on the basis that certain amount towards contribution was due from the ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... de to the ex-employees in respect of the arrear period i.e. the period during which the employer has not remitted the amount. Further according to this respondent the said Provident Funds Act has no-provision making it obligatory on the respondents to pay the provident fund money in cases where dues have not been paid by the employer. Further according to this respondent No. 2 after these mills have been taken over by the Government of India vide Sick Textile Undertakings (Nationalisation) Act, 1974 some compensation was awarded by the Government of India to each such national textile mill for disposal of all the liabilities of the National Textile Corporation Mills for the pre-take-over period through the Commissioner of Payments appointed by the Government of India. Accordingly claims in respect of each National Textile Corporation Mill were filed by the respondents before the Assistant Commissioner, of Payments, Ahmedabad, but no money was received from the Commissioner of Payments. The reasons assigned for the non-payment of the amounts of claims have been shown to be that no surplus amount for the payments is available (Annexure R1). Further according to this respondent, re ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... s members are exposed. These risks are essentially contingencies against which the individual of small means cannot effectively provide by his own ability or foresight alone or even in private combination with his fellows. In a modern State it is of utmost importance to eradicate poverty, unemployment and disease. As a matter of fact, security of employment, security of income, and security against ill-health can only be assured through a system of social assistance schemes. The object of this Act appears to be to make some provision for the future of the industrial worker after he retires or for his dependants in case of his early death. The ideal way would have been provisions through old age and survivors' pensions as has been done in the industrially advanced countries. But in the prevailing conditions in India the ideal has not been achieved in real practice though there is also similar Act known as the Coal Mines Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1948. These legislations have been made to make adequate provision for the future of labour to inculcate in them a habit of thrift so that on retirement when the workers grow old and are unable to undertake any ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... cial welfare scheme suffers may be on account of the injury. Law expands concepts to embrace social needs so as to become functionally effectual. The Supreme Court in this judgment has, in brief, set out the scheme which is principally and mainly for the welfare of workers who are employed in factories and other establishments and a heavy responsibility is cast on the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner to see that the provisions of the said Act and the Scheme are properly and effectively followed and complied with by the employer. Section 2(h) of the Employees' Provident Funds Act, 1952 defines 'Fund' which means--the provident fund established under a Scheme. Section 2(j) defines 'member' which means a member of the Fund and section 2(1) defines 'Scheme' which means the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme framed under section 5 of the said Act, according to which the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme, 1952 was framed. Clause 38 of the said Scheme relates to mode of payment of contributions which is as follows : 38. Mode of payment of contributions.--(1) The employer shall, before paying the member his wages in respect of any period or ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... amount of recoveries made from the wages of all the members and the aggregate amount contributed by the employer in respect of all such members for the month. The employer shall also send to the Commissioner, within one month of the close of the period of currency, a Consolidated Annual Contribution Statement in Form 6-A, showing the total amount of recoveries made during the period of currency from the wages of each member and the total amount contributed by the employer in respect of each such member for the said period. The employer shall maintain on his record duplicate copies of the aforesaid monthly abstract and Consolidated Annual Contribution Statement for production at the time of inspection by an Inspector. Clause 48 provides that-- The Commissioner shall deposit the Bank drafts or cheques received from the employers in the Reserve Bank or the State Bank of India in the Current Account of the Fund. Clause 50 provides that -- The aggregate amount received as the employer's and the employees* contributions to the Fund shall be credited to an account to be called the Provident Fund Account; Clause 53 of the said Scheme relates to disposal of the Fund. Claus ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 10,000 or the Chairman of the Central Board, if the amount exceeds ₹ 10,000 considers to be the proper person representing the lunatic and the receipt of such person for the amount paid shall be a sufficient discharge thereof. (4) If it is brought to the notice of the Commissioner that a posthumous child is to be born to the deceased member he shall retain the amount which will be due to the child in the event of its being born alive and distribute the balance. If subsequently no child is born or the child is still born, the amount retained shall be distributed in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 70. (5) Any person who desires to claim payment under this paragraph shall send a written application for the purpose to the Commissioner through the employer. If such person is unable to send the application through the employer for any reason whatsoever, he may submit it to the Commissioner and the Commissioner may forward such application to the employer. The employer shall forward or, as the case may be, return to the Commissioner every application received by him under this paragraph within fifteen days of the receipt of the application by him. The Commissioner ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... S. Kokje, therefore, contended that the respondents cannot avoid payment of provident fund dues on the excuse that they have not been able to recover certain contributions from the employers. He, further, submitted that the purpose, intent and the scheme shows that the amount to be paid to the employees towards provident fund cannot be made dependent on the payment of various contributions by the employers and, therefore, the employees cannot be penalised for neglect or failure of the respondents in realising the contributions due from the respondents. He, therefore, submitted that as the payment to the employee has to be made from the Fund, on retirement he is entitled to the payment of the entire amount including his contribution as also the contribution of the employer, as in the present case, irrespective of the fact whether the employer has actually credited the said amount to the Fund, because the import of the Scheme would indicate that once the employer has deducted the employee's contribution from his wages, as the employer is also equally bound to contribute his share, so far as the employee is concerned, that amount is deemed to have been credited to his account in t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... the Government of India to find out a solution and funds to pay the employees in distress as according to him the special reserve fund cannot be utilised for making payments in these cases. After hearing the Learned Counsel and after considering the provisions of the said Provident Funds Act and the Scheme framed thereunder as also the purpose and object thereof, we are of opinion that the stand taken by the respondents is devoid of any substance because the employee for no fault of his cannot be allowed to suffer in this manner as he is entitled to the payment of the entire amount for the period for which he has put up his claim in this petition. Obviously the petitioner had become a member of the Scheme in the hope that on retirement he would get all his dues as amount from his wages was regularly deducted by the employer and he could have no reason to imagine that the employer might not have remitted his contribution so deducted as also the share of the employer to the said fund because that is one of the allurements to the employee that on retirement in addition to his own contribution he will get much more by way of contribution of the share of his employer also because in ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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