KOCHI: High Court of Kerala state has dismissed an appeal filed by the KSRTC towards a Single Judge’s directive to remit the workers’ and employer’s contribution to the NPS and the contribution to State Life Insurance Coverage and Group Insurance coverage Accounts to the respective heads. The Single Judge discovered that there was no justification for not remitting the required amounts to the National Pension Scheme, as soon as the workers’ contribution to the identical has been deducted from their wage.
Dismissing the prayer, the Division Bench mentioned that there was ‘no infirmity or illegality within the judgment of a Single Judge.
The Division Bench mentioned that as rightly held by the Single Judge bench, if such deductions are effected, the company is statutorily certain to remit it to the Contributory Pension Scheme. Non-remittance of funds, after effecting the deduction may point out a diversion of the identical for another functions of the company, which may hardly be justified.
The company has no power to satisfy its monetary obligation by utilising the workers’ contribution to the National Pension Scheme.
Subsequently, even when the monetary plight propounded by the company is liable to be thought of, the identical couldn’t present any justifiable logic for non-remittance of the worker’s contribution to the National Pension Scheme, stated the Bench.