The subsequent deposit of the outstanding dues by the appellants could lead to the quashing of the criminal complaints in view of the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in the Adoni Cotton Mills Ltd. case.

( 1 ) THIS appeal is directed against the summary rejection of the writ petition filed by the appellants, inter alia praying for quashing of the various complaint cases set out in prayer (a) thereto and pending before the learned Chief judicial Magistrate, Barasat.

( 2 ) ON behalf of the appellants it was urged by Sri Sukumar Bhattacharjee that all the complaints filed on behalf of the Regional provident Fund Commissioner, West Bengal, were incompetent as the same was based on adjudications said to have been made under section 7-A of the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, but in respect whereof no notice had been served on the appellants, It was urged that since the section 7-A proceedings had been conducted behind the back of the writ petitioners, the same stood vitiated and all proceedings taken on the basis of such unlawful adjudication also stood vitiated and were liable to be quashed.

( 3 ) IN this connection, reference was made to a Single Bench decision of the Madras High court in Ramanujam Press v. Regional Provident fund Commissioner, Madras, AIR 1970 Mad 224, wherein the orders passed consequent to the adjudication under Section 7-A of the aforesaid act were quashed as the employer was not given an opportunity to represent his case in the Section 7-A proceedings.

( 4 ) SRI Bhattacharjee then referred to the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in union of India and others v. Dinanath shantaram Karekar and others, reported in air 1998 SC 2722 : 1998 (7) SCC 569 : 1998-II-LLJ-748 wherein relation to service of a charge-sheet the Hon'ble Supreme Court held that since the delinquent had to submit his reply, actual service was essential and had to be proved.

( 5 ) SRI Bhattacharjee submitted that in the absence of proof of actual service the theory of communication could not be invoked.

( 6 ) IT was also submitted that sanction for prosecution had not been obtained from the regional Provident Fund Commissioner, West bengal, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the complaints filed by the Provident Fund inspector were, therefore, without authority, and the cognizance taken thereupon was bad in law and was liable to be quashed.

( 7 ) SRI Bhattacharjee urged that pursuant to the various orders passed from time to time in the appeal, all the dues alleged to have been outstanding, had been fully paid by the appellants and in view of the decisions of the hon'ble Supreme Court and this Court in that regard, the criminal complaint cases were liable to be quashed.

( 8 ) SRI Bhattacharjee also referred to the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme Court in adoni Cotton Mills Ltd. v. Regional Provident fund Commissioner and others reported in 1995 Supp. (4) SCC 580 : 1996-II-LLJ-739 wherein having regard to the liquidation of the outstanding provident fund dues, the Hon'ble supreme Court directed that the prosecutions for default in payment of such dues be quashed subject to the condition that the sum directed to be deposited be paid to the Regional Provident fund Commissioner who would be entitled to appropriate the same.

( 9 ) IN this connection reference was also made to a Bench decision of this Court in the case of Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, West bengal v. Raj Kumar Nemani and others reported in 1995 (1) L. L. N. 945, wherein relying on the decision of the Hon'ble Supreme court in Provident Fund Inspector, Faridabad v. Jaipur Textile, Faridabad, reported in AIR 1987 SC 1738 : 1986 (Supp) SCC 678, it was held that since the entire arrears of provident fund had been deposited prior to the lodging of the criminal complaint, the prosecution could not be proceeded with.

( 10 ) SRI Bhattacharjee next referred to a single Bench decision of this Court rendered by one of us (ALTAMAS KABIR, J.) in Kanoria Jute industries, Ltd. and another v. Regional I provident Fund Commissioner, West Bengal and others, reported in 1994 (1) C. L. J. 442, wherein in the facts and circumstanc