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IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS
Dr. Justice A.D. Maria Clete, J
Central Board of Trustees, Employees Provident Fund, Represented by the Assistant Provident Fund Commissioner – Appellant
Versus
Coimbatore North Sarvodaya Sangh – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
A.D. Maria Clete, J.
Heard.
2. All these writ petitions have been filed by the Employees Provident Fund Department, challenging various orders passed by the Employees Provident Fund Tribunal, Delhi, which granted relief to the Respondents and interfered with the orders issued by the authorities under Section 7A of the EPF Act. Notably, there has been an inordinate delay in filing these writ petitions, as illustrated in the table below:
| SI. No. | Writ Petition Number | Date of Tribunal’s order | Years of delay |
| 1 | W.P.No.1242/2020 | 070411 | 9 years |
| 2 | W.P.No.10704/2020 | 111814 | 6 years |
| 3 | W.P.No.11138/2020 | 111814 | 6 years |
| 4 | W.P.No.11712/2020 | 090414 | 6 years |
| 5 | W.P.No.11714/2020 | 090414 | 6 years |
| 6 | W.P.No.12577/2020 | 080513 | 7 years |
| 7 | W.P.No.16622/2020 | 121212 | 8 years |
| 8 | W.P.No.16623/2020 | 081914 | 6 years |
| 9 | W.P.No.16767/2020 | 101614 | 6 years |
3. Although the duration of delay varies, the deponent of the affidavit, namely the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner, Coimbatore, has provided a standardized explanation for the delay in all affidavits. In W.P. No. 12577 of 2020, he stated in Paragraph 12 as follows:
“It is submitted that the documents were handed over to the earlier panel counsel for the petitioner. Due to ill health, he did not file th
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