IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Civil Writ Petition No.9418 of 2008 Date of decision:07.12.2009 The Janta Ferozepur Cooperative Labour & Construction Society Limited, Ferozepur Cantt. District Ferozepur ....Petitioner versus Employees Provident Fund Organization and another ...Respondents CORAM: HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE K. KANNAN ---- Present: Mr. Gurminder Singh, Advocate, for the petitioner. Mr. Rajiv Sharma, Advocate, for respondent No.2. ---- 1. Whether reporters of local papers may be allowed to see the judgment ? Yes. 2. To be referred to the reporters or not ? Yes. 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the digest ? Yes. ---- K.Kannan, J. (Oral) 1. The order impugned in the writ petition is at the instance of the Cooperative Society registered under the Punjab Cooperative Societies Act issued by the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner to the District Manager,Punsup/Pungrain/Markfed, FCI, PSWC/PAFC, District Ferozepur, by its order dated 29.04.2008, directing to stop the release of any payment/security to the contractors of the petitioner- society, pending verification of records from the said Society. The objection by the Society is two-fold: that the provisions of the Civil Writ Petition No.9418 of 2008 - 2 - Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 is inapplicable to Cooperative Societies under Section 16 of the said Act and that further under Section 7(a) relating to the determination of monies due from employers contemplated an enquiry before the determination is made. 2. To the averments in the writ petition, on behalf of the respondent, it is pointed out that this would be permitted only to Cooperative Society which employed less than 50 persons and working without the aid and in this case the Cooperative Society has more than 50 persons in their employment rolls. I have no difficulty in accepting the contention that the Cooperative Societies that will be exempted from the application of the Act shall be only in respect of societies which employ less than 50 persons. 3. Even if such a contention were to be sustained, it has to be still seen whether the payments to the Society could be stopped as an interim move by issuing a notice not to the petitioner-society but issuing notice to the petitioner's-employers. Although a specific contention is made in para 7 of the writ petition that the action is being taken relating to the applicability of the Act without serving any notice under Section 7-A, the written statement only traverses the issue that the society would be governed by the provisions of the Act. It does not deny the fact that no such notice as contemplated for an enquiry under Section 7-A has been taken. The payment of bills to the Society cannot be stultified in the manner sought to be done by the impugned order. The impugned order is under the circumstance quashed and the writ petition is allowed, Civil Writ Petition No.9418 of 2008 - 3 - granting however the liberty to the respondent to initiate the appropriate action relating to the applicability of the Act in the manner provided under Section 7-A of the Act. There shall be however no directions as to costs. (K.KANNAN) JUDGE 07.12.2009 sanjeev