The High Court disposed of a writ petition by directing the appeal authority to decide the pending appeal within three weeks and restraining coercive recovery steps until the appeal is disposed of.
Appeal fixed for disposal within three weeks; notice of demand kept in abeyance; no coercive steps taken.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE, ANDHRA PRADESH AT HYDERABAD
MONDAY, THE TWENTY FIRST DAY OF APRIL TWO THOUSAND AND FOURTEEN
Present
HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE P.NAVEEN RAO
WRIT PETITION No.11862 of 2014
Between:
M/s. Elite Consultancy, Rep. by its Proprietor Sri Lalam Ramesh, O/o. 1-1-82, Akkireddy Palem, BHPV Post, Visakhapatnam – 12.
.. Petitioner
AND
Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, Rep. by its Director General, Panchdeep Bhawan Comrade Inderjeet Gupta (CIG) Marg, New Delhi - 110 002 & 4 others
.. Respondents
The Court made the following:
HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE P.NAVEEN RAO
WRIT PETITION No.11862 of 2014
ORDER:
With the consent of learned counsel for the parties, this writ petition is disposed of at the admission stage.
2. The petitioner avers that the Assistant Director (Insurance), Sub-Regional Office, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, Visakhapatnam, passed orders on 11.11.2013 directing the petitioner to pay a sum of Rs.1,10,261/- determined as arrears of contribution payable by the petitioner. Aggrieved by the said orders, the petitioner filed an appeal under Section 45 AA of the Employees State Insurance Act, 1948 (for short, ‘the Act’), before the Joint Regional Director, Sub-Regional Office, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, Visakhapatnam (3rd respondent) on 06.02.2014 by depositing 25% of the amount quantified by the Assistant Director (Insurance). The said appeal is not disposed of till date. On the contrary, the Recovery Officer, Employees’ State Insurance Corporation, Visakhapatnam (4th respondent) vide his Memo, dated 10.04.2014, directed the Axis Bank, Chinagantyada, Gajuwaka, Visakhapatnam, to freeze the bank account of the petitioner. Hence, this writ petition.
3. An aggrieved person has a statutory right of appeal under
Section 45 AA of the Act and the petitioner has availed the said right, it is illegal to keep the appeal pending and to take coercive steps.
4. Thus, if the appeal, dated 06.02.2014, filed by the petitioner is not disposed of by the 3rd respondent, he shall consider the appeal in accordance with law and pass appropriate orders by explaining reasons within a period of three (3) weeks from the date of receipt of copy of this order. If orders are already passed, he shall communicate the same to the petitioner. Until the order is communicated to the petitioner, the notice of demand, dated 07.03.2014, issued by the Recovery Officer be kept in abeyance and it is further ordered that no coercive steps be taken against the petitioner.
5. With the above observations, the Writ Petition is disposed of. There shall be no order as to costs. Miscellaneous petitions, if any, pending in this writ petition shall stand closed.
_________________ P.NAVEEN RAO, J
Date: 21st April, 2014
KL
HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE P.NAVEEN RAO
WRIT PETITION No.11862 of 2014
Date: 21st April, 2014
KL
2 issues framed by the court
Whether coercive steps like freezing bank accounts are illegal when an appeal regarding contribution arrears is pending.
Whether the Recovery Officer must keep the notice of demand in abeyance during the pendency of the appeal.
1 provisions across 1 enactments
M/s. Elite Consultancy
Employees' State Insurance Corporation
P. Naveen Rao
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
