1994 Supreme(SC) 635
KULDIP SINGH, N.P.SINGH, P.B.SAWANT
Sahni Silk Mills Private LTD. – Appellant
Versus
Employees State Insurance Corporation – Respondent
Advocates:
A.K.SRIVASTAVA, A.P.BHANDARI, A.T.M.SAMPATH, ANIL KATIYAR, C.V.SUBBA RAO, K.R.NAGARAJA, M.K.D.NAMBUDIRY, M.L.Verma, S.BALAKRISHNAN, S.C.PATEL, V.C.MAHAJAN, V.J.Francis, V.SUBRAHMANYAM
Judgement Key Points
Certainly. Based on the provided legal document, here are the key points:
- The case involves the Employees State Insurance Corporation and the issue of delegation of powers under the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 (!) (!) .
- The core legal question pertains to whether the Corporation could validly delegate its authority under Section 85-B(1) of the Act to recover damages to officers subordinate to the Corporation, specifically whether this delegation was within the statutory framework (!) (!) .
- The Court examined the scope of Section 94-A of the Act, which permits delegation of powers, and analyzed whether the delegation included sub-delegation to officers further down the hierarchy (!) (!) .
- The resolution of the Corporation, which delegated its powers under Section 85-B(1) to the Director General and authorized him to further delegate to other officers, was scrutinized for compliance with statutory provisions (!) (!) .
- The Court held that the delegation of powers must be exercised by the authority to whom they are conferred and cannot be sub-delegated unless explicitly permitted by the statute or necessary implication (!) (!) .
- It was determined that the resolution allowing the Director General to delegate his powers to other officers was invalid because the statutory provisions did not expressly or impliedly authorize such sub-delegation (!) (!) .
- As a consequence, orders passed by Regional Directors based on the invalid delegation were also invalid, although actions taken during the period when the delegation was valid were upheld to maintain legal stability (!) (!) .
- The Court emphasized that the exercise of quasi-judicial powers, such as recovering damages, must be carried out by authorized officials personally and not through unauthorized sub-delegation (!) (!) .
- Ultimately, the Court dismissed the appeals and special leave petitions filed by the Employees State Insurance Corporation, affirming that the delegation of powers as attempted was not legally permissible under the statutory framework (!) (!) .
Please let me know if you need further analysis or specific legal interpretations.
Judgment
N.P. SINGH, J.-
C.A. Nos. 2971-2974 of 1989
The Regional Directors of the Employees State Insurance Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the Corporation) issued notices under Section 85-B of the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 (hereinafter referred to as the Act) to the appellants between the years 1979 to 1981, stating that they proposed to impose damages against the appellants because there had been delay on the part of the appellants in making payment of the contribution, in accordance with the provisions of the said Act. Different amounts were mentioned in the said notices which were to be imposed, as damages against the different appellants. The appellants in pursuance to the notices aforesaid submitted their explanations indicating the reasons and circumstances, because of which the delay had occurred. The Regional Directors passed orders on different dates against the different appellants imposing damages, for the period in question. Being aggrieved by those orders the appellants filed petitions under Section 75 of the Act before the Employees Insurance Court. The Employees Insurance Court dismissed the petitions. Thereafter appeals were filed under Section 82 o
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