City
Epaper

SC issues notice to Hiranandani in provident fund case

By IANS | Updated: July 8, 2019 22:15 IST

The Supreme Court has issued notice to the country's leading real estate developer Niranjan Lakhumal Hiranandani and 25 others in a case of criminal conspiracy to allegedly cheat the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) by not depositing provident fund dues of the company's employees amounting to Rs 9 crore.

Open in App

The order came on an appeal filed by the CBI challenging an April 2018 Bombay High Court order that quashed the case against Hiranandani and other accused.

The CBI claims Hiranandani colluded with top-level regional EPFO officials to submit a forged list of employees and their documents with the retirement fund body.

The agency's Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) had in 2008 filed an FIR against Hiranandani for not depositing provident funds of the employees of his group to the tune of Rs 9 crore.

In its charge sheet filed in 2010, the ACB accused the realtor of cheating, forgery and criminal conspiracy.

The charge sheet alleged that 137 employees of the Hiranandani group were not enrolled under the EPF Act, and "revealed a large scale evasion of provident fund dues, causing wrongful loss to the Department and wrongful gain to directors of the company".

The High Court in its 2018 order termed the action by the CBI as "impermissible" and annulled the charge sheet against the 26 accused, including Hiranandani.

In its petition filed before the Supreme Court, the CBI said: "A false list of the employees was prepared and false documents were used to cheat the EPFO."

According to the CBI petition: "Investigation revealed that arrears of Rs 2.2 lakh of the Provident Fund for the period between October 1, 2005 to March 31, 2006, were deposited for 48 employees. Surprisingly, these employees were appointed on April 1, 2006."

The petition claimed that the company asked its contractors to prepare false wage records with the intention to mislead the investigation and cheat the EPFO and "deprived the workers of their legitimate pecuniary benefits and social security of insurance and pension and these false records were seized during the search."

The High Court while quashing the CBI charge sheet said no inquiry was conducted under Section 7A of the EPF Act.

The CBI contended that the Section 7A was applicable when the provident fund was not paid and dispute arose in connection with the amount. "It may not be applicable to a case of conspiracy where documents were fabricated and wage records tampered with," it said.

(Sumit Saxena can be contacted at sumit.s@.in)

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: cbiHiranandaniEPFHigh Court
Open in App

Related Stories

EntertainmentShilpa Shetty Denies Receiving ₹15 Crore, Threatens Legal Action Over Defamation

NationalKerala HC: Consensual Relationship Turning Sour Not Sexual Assault, Bail Granted to Accused

NationalMadhya Pradesh Cyber Crime: Two Arrested in ₹49.40 Lakh Online Scam; Passbooks, SIMs, Cash Seized

BusinessAnil Ambani’s Reliance Power and Reliance Infra Shares Crash After CBI Books ADAG Group MD In Fraud Case

MumbaiMumbai Police Registers First FIR in Mahim for Feeding Pigeons Following BMC Complaint

National Realted Stories

National'Outstanding leader', PM Modi expresses grief over demise of Vijay Kumar Malhotra

NationalVijay Kumar Malhotra Passes Away at 93: PM Modi Condoles Demise of Veteran Delhi BJP Leader

NationalAyudha Puja rush: Over 1,000 special buses, extra trains from Chennai to manage crowd

NationalVeteran BJP leader Vijay Kumar Malhotra passes away

NationalTN weather forecast: Rain to continue till October 5