IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.14446 of 2009 1. DEEP NARAIN SINGH COLLEGE(D.N. SINGH COLLEGE) BHUSIA, P.S-RAJAUR, DISTT-BANKA THROUGH ITS PRINCIPAL MAHESH PRASAD SINGH S/O LATE SARGUM PD. SINGH, R/O VILL-BANGAUN, P.S- RAJAUR, DISTT- BANKA Versus 1. THE EMPLOYEES PROVIDENT FUND ORGANISATION THROUGH THE REGIONAL PROVIDENT FUND COMMISSIONER II, SUB-REGIONAL OFFICE, ADAMPUR CHOWK, BHAGALPUR 2. THE REGIONAL PROVIDENT FUND COMMISSIONER SUB-REGIONAL OFFICE, ADAMPUR CHOWK, BHAGALPUR 3. ASSISTANT PROVIDENT FUND COMMISSIONER BHAGALPUR, SUB REGIONAL OFFICE- ADAMPUR CHOWK, BHAGALPUR ----------- For the Petitioner : Mr. Gopal Pd. Roy For EPF Organization : Mr. R.s.Pradhan,Sr.Adv. & Mr. Dheeraj Kr. Roy. 3 11.5.2010 Petitioner, by this writ application, is challenging the applicability of the Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provision Act, 1952. It is stated that the petitioner’s college is an affiliated college of Tilka Manjhi University. The University being exempt and having its own scheme for the purposes of employees provident fund. The petitioner would accordingly be exempt . Petitioner is making similar deduction from basic salary paid to its employees, teaching and non teaching staff and depositing in a privately open provident fund account. In my view, the argument and the submission is misconceived. Petitioner is not a constituent college and as such not 2 a constituent of Bhagalpur University. It has merely got affiliation from the university. The expression ‘affiliation’ means permission to establish and run or recognition of the institution to conduct courses. By no means it becomes a part of the University. Thus, it cannot compare itself with the constituent college of the University. Petitioner is a separate independent legal entity and the Act applies to it independent of its affiliation to University. Petitioner would thus be liable to comply with the provisions of the Act and the Scheme framed there- under. The next challenge of the petitioner is to the demand ,as made by the Provident Fund Commissioner. Those are the matters, which the petitioner would be better advised to raise in a proceeding under Section 7A of the Act. The liability would be on the petitioner to satisfy the authority about the number and the identity of the persons concerned in respect of which compliance is required to be done, right from the date of applicability of the Act. All deductions made proportionate to the wages on account of provident fund as lying in the provident fund account privately opened by the college in the Bank, to be remitted to the authority. Petitioner would then comply with the provisions of the Act, which earlier did not apply to them. Being a private institution, the Provident Fund Commissioner would consider taking lenient view of the matter in ensuring compliance of the provisions of the Act. 3 With the aforesaid observations and directions, the writ petition stands disposed of. singh ( Navaniti Prasad Singh, J.)