A company had deducted Rs 15.14 lakh from employees’ salaries for their provident fund for the period March 2012 to March 2013 and from May 2013 to July 2013, but didn’t deposit this money with the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EFPO). Now, this company is insolvent.
Seeing this gross misconduct, the Employee Provident Fund inspector on July 3, 2014, filed an F.I.R bearing P.S. Case No. 155/14 against the company’s director. During the course of the police investigation, the director deposited the pending dues of the employees’ PFs and thus cleared all statutory EPF dues.
However, the Orissa High Court ruled that subsequent payment of employees’ provident fund dues cannot not eliminate criminal liability for prior default,…