BALLARPUR COLLIERIES CO Vs. COAL MINES PROVIDENT FUND COMMISSIONER

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner in all these three cases is a partnership firm, namely, the Ballarpur Collieries Company, registered under the Indian Partnership Act, having its head office in Nagpur in the State of Maharashtra. It owns three collieries in the district of Chanda in the said State. The petitioner was required under paragraph 33A (2) of the Coal Mines Provident Fund Scheme, 1948, (hereinafter referred to as the 'Scheme') framed under Section 3 of the Coal Mines Provident Fund and Bonus Schemes Act, 1948 (Central Act XLVI of 1948) hereinafter referred to as the 'Act', to pay to the Fund both the employer's contribution as well as the member's contribution together with an amount calculated at the rate mentioned in paragraph 33B of the Scheme to defray the cost of administration of the Fund on or before the 15th day of every month following the month to which the contributions relate'. The petitioner did not pay or deposit either its own contribution or the member's contribution which it had realised, within the specified time for the period--January, 1958 to May, 1959. The total amount which fell in arrears came to Rs. 3,28,654/46 nP. in respect of all the three collieries. The Coal Mines Provident Fund Commissioner, Dhanbad, the respondent in these cases, proceeded to recover from the petitioner the amount of arrears aforesaid under Section 10A of the Act by forwarding three certificates dated the 26th November, 1958, 22nd May, 1959 and 21st July, 1959, after having made and verified those certificates himself and under his own signature, to the Collector of the district of Chanda in the State of Maharashtra. The Collector of Chanda forwarded those certificates to the Tahsildar of that place for effecting recoveries and three certificate cases were started.

(2.) The petitioner eventually has paid and deposited the entire amount payable under paragraph 33A of the Scheme but it objects by these three applications to the action of the respondent for realisation of interest at the rate of 6 1/4 per cent per annum and pleader's fee at 2 1/2 per cent, on the respective amounts of Provident Fund contributions and administrative charges falling in arrears. The amounts under the two heads objected to in the three certificates cases are: <FRM>JUDGEMENT_450_AIR(PAT)_1962Html1.htm</FRM> The petitioner's contention is that neither under the Act nor under the Scheme the petitioner is liable to pay any interest on the amount of arrears aforesaid or any legal expenses, such as, the pleader's fee, etc. Hence, the action of the respondent in including those amounts in certificate proceedings is illegal and void, and the petitioner prays for a writ of mandamus against the respondent commanding him to forbear from realising the amounts aforesaid on account of interest and pleader's fee. It has also been submitted on behalf of the petitioner that under Section 5 of the Revenue Recovery Act (Act 1 of 1890), the procedure to be followed by the respondent was to request the Collector of Dhanbad to send to the Collector of Chanda a certificate of the amount to be recovered and not to send himself under his own signature the certificates in question.

(3.) The learned Government Pleader appearing for the respondent, in the first instance, endeavoured to take a preliminary objection that the certificate proceedings are pending in the State of Maharashtra and, therefore, the petitioner ought to have moved the Bombay High Court for the redress of its grievances as that High Court alone would have been competent to quash the certificate proceedings if they were fit to be quashed. But, on our pointing out that, if the contentions raised on behalf of the petitioner are sound, the respondent, who is amenable to the jurisdiction of this Court, can be commanded to forbear to proceed with his illegal action, the learned Government Pleader did not pursue the point any further and eventually gave it up. It was also not disputed before us that the petitioner has paid the entire amount of arrears payable under paragraph 33A of the Scheme. The learned Government Pleader also conceded in all fairness that the respondent, in anticipation of legal expenses to be incurred in certificate proceedings, was not entitled to include in the amounts of the certificate debts any legal expenses, namely, the pleader's fee, etc. Apart from his concession, it is obvious that that could not be so included as none of the paragraphs in the Scheme entitles the respondent to recover any amount of legal expenses either on account of pleader's fee or otherwise on the amount of arrears remaining due under the Scheme from the employer.