- (1.) PETITION filed by the respondent under section 75 of the Employees' State Insurance act (hereinafter referred to as the 'the Act') was accepted by learned Sub Judge 1st Class, amloh vide order dated May 29, 1984 by holding that the appellant-Corporation could not recover the amount of employees' contribution for the period 6/75 to 10/76,11/76 to 7/77 and 6/78 to -March, 1979 and it could recover the amount from April, 1979. Aggrieved of the same, the Corporation filed the present appeal under Section 82 (2) of the act.
(2.) VIDE notice dated May 6, 1982, the appellant-Corporation claimed an amount of rs. 5121. 86p. from the respondent firm as employees contribution, as the same had not been paid, whereas the inspection of the account books revealed that the contribution was due towards respondent-firm. While filing the petition under Section 75 of the Act, the respondent-firm pleaded that it had paid all the contributions to the appellant-Corporation and nothing was due. The amount being claimed was in respect of the contract labour and also some other labour to which the Act did not apply. The building and furnace repairs were done by the masons or by the contract labour, who did not fall within the definition of industrial labour. As such, the Act or its scheme did not apply to such workers. This stand of the respondent-firm was denied by the appellant-Corporation.
(3.) ON the basis of the pleadings and the evidence led by the parties, learned tral Court held that the respondent-firm was liable to pay the contribution demanded by the appellant-Corporation but the demand regarding the period from June, 1975 to october, 1976, November, 1976 to July, 1977 and June, 1978 to March, 1979 was barred by limitation, as the appellant-Corporation ought to have started proceedings for recovering the amount within three years from the date from. which the cause of action arose and not later.;