HINDUSTAN INSECTICIDES LTD Vs. T M JALEEL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WE find a merit in these two appeals.

(2.) M. F. A. No. 33 of 1984 and M. F. A. No. 34 of 1984 are directed respectively, against the orders in E. I. C. No. 82 of 1982 and E. I. C. No. 83 of 1982 on the file of the Employees' Insurance Court, Alleppey. In both the appeals the appellant is the Hindustan Insecticides Ltd. , hereinafter referred to for the sake of convenience as the principal employer'. The 1st respondent in each case is a contractor to whom loading and transport work under the appellant has been entrusted; and for the sake of convenience they would, hereinafter, be referred to as 'immediate employers'.

(3.) THE contribution under the Employees' Insurance Act (the Act) due in respect of the employees employed under the immediate employers to the Employees' Insurance Corporation (the corporation) had not been deducted by the principal employer from the wages of the employees in question or for that matter from the bills of the immediate employers. It would appear that sometime in 1975 the Inspector of the Corporation detected that employees employed under the immediate employers had not been registered under the provisions of the Act and that the contribution due in respect of them had not been paid to the corporation. After some correspondence between the principal employer and the corporation the employees under the immediate employers were registered towards the end of 1975 or thereabout and for the period from 1st March, 1976 the immediate employers had been paying the contribution in respect of them (the employees employed by the immediate employers ). Later the Inspector of the Corporation made a further detection that those employees were in the employment of the immediate employers for the period from 1965 to 1975 and that for that period also the contribution was due in respect of them. Accordingly, the 2nd respondent-the Regional Director of the Corporation, issued notice requiring the immediate employers to pay a sum of Rs. 5,107-32 and Rs. 4,084/- respectively by way of arrears of contribution for the period prior to 1st March, 1976 during which time those employees were not covered. The principal employer having paid those amounts to the corporation, sought to recover those amounts by bill adjustments from the immediate employers; and this gave rise to a dispute between the parties which was referred for adjudication to the E. S. I. Court, Alleppey, under Section 75-G of the Act. The E. S. I. Court by its order dated 28th September, 1983 directed the principal employer-the 2nd respondent before that Court to pay to the immediate employers (petitioners before that Court) the amount deducted from their bills by way of recovery of the amounts paid towards the arrears of contribution paid by the principal employer in respect of the employees employed by the immediate employers who were not registered prior to 1 st March, 1976. It is aggrieved by this decision of the E. S. I. Court that these appeals have been preferred by the principal employer.