ORDER :

Prayer: Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for issuance of a Writ of Mandamus, directing 2nd Respondent to accept the representation of the petitioner dated 29.03.2019 without insisting on any condition and to further grant reasonable instalments to remit the sum of Rs. 97,17,826/- ordered in terms of proclamation of Sale Notice dated 06.11.2020 in proceedings No. CB/SLM/34925/Recy/KI/2020 of the 2nd respondent.

Petition is filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for issuance of a Writ of Mandamus to recall the letter dated 30.11.2020 sent through email on 01.12.2020 to the petitioner Bank.

1. The Writ Petition in W.P. No. 19301 of 2020 has been filed for a direction to the 1st Respondent to recall the letter dated 30.11.2020 sent through email on 01.12.2020 to the petitioner Bank. In W.P. No. 18194 of 2020, the relief sought for was for a direction to the 2nd Respondent to accept the representation of the petitioner dated 29.03.2019 without insisting on any condition and to further grant reasonable instalments to remit the sum of Rs. 97,17,826/- ordered in terms of proclamation of Sale Notice dated 06.11.2020 in proceedings No. CB/SLM/34925/Recy/KI/2020 of the 2nd respondent.

2. Since the issue involved in these Writ Petition is one and the same, they are taken up together for joint disposal. For the sake of brevity, the parties are, in short, referred to as Bank, EPFO and the Management respectively (for South Indian Bank Limited, Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation and Jaihind Spinning Mills Limited).

Facts in W.P. No. 18194 of 2020:

3. It was the case of the Management that it is a Limited Company, registered under the Companies Act, 1956 and is engaged in manufacturer of cotton yarn fabric, providing employment to around 250 employees, including casuals and temporary worker. Due to financial crunch, it incurred loss and came to a standstill with effect from August, 2019. The Management borrowed loan from South Indian Bank Limited to recover from the loss and as on date, it owed a sum of Rs. 13.5 Crores to the said Bank.

3.1. It was further case of the Management that it was unable to pay salary to its employees and there was also delay in remittance of contributory amount to the EPFO from March, 2015 to August, 2017, pursuant to which, the Commissioner, EPFO passed an order dated 03.10.2018, claiming a sum of Rs. 96,27,301/- as contribution in respect of its employees. Though the amount claimed was higher, the Management did not challenge the said order and thereafter, a recovery notice dated 30.01.2019 was issued by the Commissioner, thereby authorizing the Recovery Officer, EPFO to forcibly recovery the contributions.

3.2. It was also the case of the Management that though a request was made to the EPFO to accept the amount in instalment on 29.03.2019, EPFO further imposed several conditions vide communication dated 14.05.2019 for grant of such facility. When things stood thus, the Commissioner issued yet another notice demanding damages and interest to the tune of Rs. 15,56,672/- for belated payment for the period from 2013 to 2015 and subsequently, an order under Section 14B was issued by the Recovery Officer, EPFO, besides the claim of contribution by way of 7A proceedings by the Commissioner to the tune of Rs. 24,34,321/- for the period between February, 2018 and December, 2018.

3.3. It was stated by the Management that though the Management preferred an appeal against 14B proceedings and 7Q order dated 10.10.2019 before the Central Government Industrial Tribunal, due to Covid-19 situation, it was not taken up for admission. In the meantime, the Recovery Officer, EPFO issued a proclamation of sale certificate on 06.11.2020, attaching three machineries of the Management roughly estimated at Rs. 2.25 Crores. In the sale notice, the reserve price has been fixed at Rs. 89,77,500/- by duly fixing the date of sale as 04.12.2020. The Management, on a wrong notion that the sale c