JUDGMENT: Altamas Kabir, J.

1. Civil Appeal No.6447 of 2001 has been taken up for hearing along with five other matters, namely, Special Leave Petition (C) No.15469 of 2005, Special Leave Petition (C) No.16573 of 2006, Special Leave Petition (C) No. 20260 of 2004, Special Leave Petition (C) No.8661 of 2004 and Civil Appeal No.2629 of 2006. All the said matters are directed against orders passed by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission on Revision Petitions filed from orders passed by the State Commission, Kerala, in appeal from orders passed by the District Forum. All of them involve a common question of law and fact and have thus been taken up together for hearing and final disposal.

2. Of the five matters, Special Leave Petition (C) Nos. 20260 of 2004 and Special Leave Petition (C) No. 8661 of 2004 have been filed against order dated 30.7.2002 passed by the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (hereinafter referred to as 'the National Commission') dismissing the Revision Petitions filed by the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner for condonation of delay in filing the Review Petition. Both the Revision Petitions were dismissed on the ground that the delay had not been sufficiently explained. Though in these two Special Leave Petitions it is the order rejecting the Revision Petitions on ground of delay that is involved, ultimately, it is the order of the State Commission allowing the claim of the respondents concerned which is the subject matter of all these five matters. Furthermore, the effect of the orders passed by the National Commission in all these five matters is the same in respect of the different petitioners before the District Forum and it is their claim which has been upheld right through up to the National Commission.

3. Leave is accordingly granted in the Special Leave Petitions and all the appeals are taken up for hearing together.

4. For the sake of convenience the facts relating to Civil Appeal No.6447/2001 are taken into for consideration in order to decide the common issues in these matters.

5. The respondent Bhavani was a worker in Cashew Factory No.III (Naduvathoor) owned and managed by the Kerala State Cashew Development Corporation Limited, Kollam and according to her she retired from service on 31.12.1995 on attaining 60 years of age. Bhavani was a member of the Employees' Provident Fund and Family Pension Scheme, 1971, and was making contribution to the Scheme. In her service records maintained by the company her date of birth was shown as 31.12.1935 and though she was eligible for pension, the same was not ordered by the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, the appellant herein in all these appeals.

6. Aggrieved by the failure and/or the refusal of the Regional Provident Fund Authorities to release pension to her, Bhavani filed an application before the Consumer Disputes Redressal Forum (hereinafter referred to as 'the District Forum') Kollom, praying for a direction upon the appellant herein to release her pensionary benefits from the date of her retirement from service i.e. 31.12.1995. Bhavani's claim was contested by the appellant herein before the District Forum by filing a counter affidavit wherein it was contended that the Consumer Protection Act, 1986, would have no application to a claim made under the Employees' Provident Funds and Misc. Provisions Act, 1952 (hereinafter referred to as 'the 1952 Act'), inasmuch as, Bhavani, the respondent herein, was not a "consumer" within the meaning of Section 2(d) of the Act.

7. It was also contended on behalf of the appellant herein that Bhavani was a member of the Employees' Provident Fund and Family Pension Scheme 1971 and according to the records of the appellant she had attained the age of 60 years in 1992 before the Employees' Pension Scheme Act, 1995, came into operation. Before the District Forum it was the case of the appellant herein that the said Employees' Pension Scheme, 1995, contained a cut-off date, namely, 1st