The statutory provisions of the Act, 1952 regarding appeal, waiver of pre-deposit, and attachment of bank accounts were central to the court's decision.

JUDGMENT :

1. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that he has already served two copies of the present writ petition to learned counsel for the respondent No.3.

2. In view of the said submission, the defect No.1 pointed out by the office is ignored.

3. The present writ petition has been filed for quashing the order dated 03.03.2022 (Annexure-8 to the writ petition) passed by the respondent No.2 whereby the bank account of the petitioner maintained with the respondent No.3 has been illegally and arbitrarily attached in pursuance of an order dated 14.01.2022 passed under Section 7-A of the Employees’ Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 [hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act, 1952’] for recovery of the alleged amount of Rs.3,16,61,669/- due against the petitioner as EPF & Allied dues for the period from 04/2015 to 12/2017, despite the fact that the petitioner had already preferred appeal within the statutory period along with an application for waiver of pre-deposit and stay. The petitioner has also sought declaration that the action of the respondent No.2 in attaching the bank account of the petitioner vide order dated 03.03.2022 is wholly illegal and arbitrary as well as contrary to the letter and spirit of the provisions of the Act, 1952 and amounts to frustrating the statutory remedy of appeal to the petitioner, especially because the order of attachment has been passed prior to expiry of the statutory period of preferring appeal under Section 7-I of the Act, 1952 read with Rule 7 of the Tribunal (Procedure) Rules, 1997 [hereinafter referred to as ‘the Rules, 1997’].

4. Mr. Sumeet Gadodia, learned counsel for the petitioner, submits that the main reason for preferring the present writ petition is that an order of assessment under Section 7-A of the Act, 1952 was passed by the respondent No.2 on 14.01.2022 assessing an amount of Rs.3,16,61,669/- payable as EPF & Allied dues for the period from 04/2015 to 12/2017, a copy of which was received by the petitioner on 21.01.2022. Thereafter, the petitioner preferred an appeal before the Central Government Industrial Tribunal (CGIT) No.2, Dhanbad under Section 7-I of the Act, 1952 on 04.03.2022. In the meantime,, the impugned order of attachment was passed under Section 8-F of the Act, 1952 on 03.03.2022 attaching the bank account of the petitioner maintained with the respondent-Bank before lapse of the statutory period of 60 days for preferring an appeal against the order passed under Section 7-A of the Act, 1952.

5. It is further submitted that under Section 7-O of the Act, 1952, there is requirement of statutory deposit of 75% of the due amount at the time of entertaining the appeal. The petitioner in addition to filing an application for staying the order dated 14.01.2022 passed under Section 7-A of the Act, 1952 by the respondent No.2, has also filed an application in the said appeal seeking waiver of the statutory amount in terms with proviso to Section 7-O of the Act, 1952 read with proviso to Rule 7(3) of the Rules, 1997.

6. Learned counsel for the petitioner while producing a copy of the notice dated 11.03.2022 issued by the Registrar of Central Government Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court No. 2, Dhanbad in I.T. No. 2/13/2022/1540 (which according to learned counsel for the petitioner, is the number of the pending appeal), submits that the said appeal preferred by the petitioner will be listed before the Registrar on 25.03.2022 at 11.30 A.M. Thereafter, the case will be placed before the Presiding Officer of the CGIT-2, Dhanbad.

7. It is further submitted that the action of the respondent No.2 in issuing the impugned order dated 03.03.2022 under Section 8-F of the Act, 1952 attaching the bank account of the petitioner is highly arbitrary as by the said action, the petitioner has been prevented from taking appropriate statutory recourse within the period of limitation and even before that, the amount assessed under Section 7-A of the Act, 1952 has been soug