In Brief
The Supreme Court held that retired employees of Indian Railways who had withdrawn their accumulations from the General Provident Fund cannot be treated as 'excluded employees' under the Employees' Provident Funds Scheme, 1952 when they join a private employer. The key issue was whether 'excluded employees' definition refers to any provident fund or only the Fund created under the 1952 Scheme. The Court held that the definite article 'the' in the relevant provisions refers exclusively to the Fund under the 1952 Scheme, not to any other fund. Since Railway employees were never members of the Fund under the 1952 Scheme, they do not meet the criteria for exclusion and must be covered by the Scheme when employed by a covered establishment. The appeal was dismissed."
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