Regulation 31(C) of the Regulations is not only the damages or contributions but also any other amount due, by way of penalty. A perusal of Section 85B of the Act, as amended by Act 29 of 1989 with effect from 01.01.1992, would make it clear that the authority competent may recover damages by way of penalty. In other words, the said provision confers discretion on the Corporation either to recover the damages or not to recover the damages, by way of penalty. In such circumstances explicitly revealed from the aforesaid provisions, and especially, in the light of the decisions in Moosankutty's case and Premanandan's case (supra) the authority competent though empowered to levy damages it could impose damages only in accordance with the principles applicable for imposing penalty for failure to carry out the statutory obligation to pay contributions. There can be no doubt that 'damages' and 'penalty' are different and distinct. When a statute enjoins a person to do a particular thing and when he fails to do so, he becomes liable to be penalised, in other words, to be imposed with penalty therefor. Thus, penalty is a liability composed as a punishment on the party committing the violation. On the other hand, 'damages' means the sum recoverable as amends for the wrong by a process of law and thus, it is compensation for legal injury. When, by bringing amendment to Section 85B of the Act, it was made as a
