Court No. - 19
Case :- CONTEMPT APPLICATION (CIVIL) No. - 3107 of 2018 Applicant :- Nagar Palika Parishad Opposite Party :- Amit Kumar Bajpai, Assistant Provident Fund Commissioner, Regional Officer Counsel for Applicant :- K.P. Verma
Hon'ble Manoj Kumar Gupta,J.
The instant contempt application has been filed for alleged violation of an interim order passed by this Court on 16.9.2016 in Writ C No. 44244 of 2016. The interim order provides that proceedings under Section 7-A of the Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 may go on, but no final order shall be passed. The effect and operation of the orders dated 20.7.2016 and 1.8.2016 by which a recovery of Rs. 33,91,865/- was sought to be made against the applicant, was also stayed.
On 30.5.2018, a co-ordinate Bench of this Court passed the following order : -
"Learned counsel for the applicant is unable to state the period which was covered under the notice dated 20 July 2016. Consequently, the Court presently on the state of the record finds no ground to initiate proceedings in contempt since the period which is covered by the notice of 21 March 2018 spans between December 2015 to February 2018.
Consequently, let the applicant file a further Supplementary Affidavit explaining the above.
Include in the list of fresh cases of 23 July 2018."
Today, when the matter is taken up, a supplementary affidavit has been filed and in paragraph 3 whereof, it is admitted that the recovery order dated 20.7.2016, which was subject matter of challenge in the writ proceedings pertains to the period 11.1.2011 to 28.2.2015.
The instant contempt application has been filed on the ground that a notice has been issued on 21.3.2018 for recovery of certain amount payable as provident fund under the Act. However, it is noteworthy that the notice relates to the period 12.2.2015 to 2.2.2018, which was not subject matter of consideration in the earlier writ proceedings. This Court is therefore not inclined to proceed in contempt, but leaves it open to the applicant to challenge the impugned notice, if so advised.
The contempt application stands disposed of accordingly.
(Manoj Kumar Gupta, J.) Order Date :- 24.8.2018 AM/-