General Mills India Private Limited and Anr. v. Regional Provident Fund Commissioner II and Ors.
Case brief
What is this about?
Section 7A EPF and MP Act 1952 inquiry quashed; Section 17 exemption and surrender of EPF exemption; paragraph 79 relaxation; paragraph 28 transfer of accumulations; exempted provident fund trust; third party audit report; withholding of employee provident fund dues; data mismatch; National Data Centre; Standard Operating Procedure; dereliction by Regional Provident Fund Commissioner; mandamus for disbursement and apportionment; 85 employees pending payout; limitation against Government litigants; Article 226 liberty; General Mills India Pvt Ltd versus Regional Provident Fund Commissioner II; Bombay High Court; Writ Petition No. 17354 of 2024 with IA 15253 of 2024 in Writ Petition No. 3346 of 2009 and IA 15271 of 2024 in Contempt Petition No. 138 of 2023; decided 22 September 2025 by Milind N. Jadhav J.
What did the court decide?
Writ Petition allowed and disposed; Section 7A summons quashed and set aside; Respondent Nos. 1 to 4 directed to carry out disbursement/apportionment of provident fund amounts to all eligible employees (approximately 2500) within three months, with payout transfer for the 85 employees whose transfer payout is pending done forthwith within two weeks, and to inform the Petitioners of all payments/payouts by consolidated statement; right to undertake further Section 7A inquiry kept open strictly in accordance with law; Petitioners to cooperate if called upon to provide data regarding any mismatch; in case of delay, the Petitioner company and every entitled employee at liberty to approach the Court under Article 226; pending Interim Applications disposed.