ALOK KUMAR HAZRA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner joined the service of the respondent no. 7 in the year 1976 and became a member of the scheme framed under the Employees Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 (the Act, for short). A provident fund account number was allotted to him for the purpose of depositing the provident fund contributions. His share of contribution was regularly deducted from his monthly salary and the same was deposited by the respondent no. 7 along with its own share of contribution in the designated bank account for crediting to the petitioner s provident fund account. Some time in the year 2004 the petitioner was transferred to the Bombay office of the respondent no. 7 under the jurisdiction of the Maharashtra Regional Provident Funds Commissioner and he was allotted a separate code number. His share of contribution continued to be deducted from his salary as before. The petitioner and another employee served a notice, dated March 8, 2003 upon the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, i.e., the respondent no. 3 herein in which he made a grievance that his employer had deducted the requisite amount from his salary and deposited the same to the account number allotted to him on a regular basis but they had not been receiving any statement of accounts for many years. The respondent no. 3 was requested to look into the matter and arrange to send an up-to-date statement of accounts at the earliest. Absence of response on the part of the respondents impelled them to send a reminder dated June 5, 2003 to the respondent no. 3 herein.

(2.) Now for the first time there were some movements on the part of the provident funds authorities. The respondent no. 4, i.e., the Assistant Provident Fund Commissioner West Bengal Accounts, sent a letter dated July 29, 2003 to the respondent no. 7 inter alia stating that the annual accounts up to the year 1990-91 were prepared and issued in July, 2002.

(3.) The establishment was requested to submit attested xerox copies of the bank challans to enable the provident funds authorities to prepare annual accounts and release the same at an early date. The petitioner says, this was a false claim made by the respondents and since the default continued the petitioner sent a legal notice dated February 9, 2004 to the respondent no. 4. By the said letter the respondent no. 4 was directly made responsible for the non-supply of statement of accounts and the petitioner called upon him to supply all statements of accounts of the petitioner s provident funds for the period from 1986-87 to 2002-03 within a period of 15 days from the date of receipt of the letter.