In Brief
Pawan Hans Ltd., a government company with 51% Central Government ownership, denied provident fund benefits to 270 contractual employees despite its own PF Trust Regulations defining "employee" broadly. The company claimed exemption under the EPF Act, arguing it was government-controlled. The Supreme Court held that while the company is government-controlled, it failed the second exemption criterion: contractual workers received no PF benefits under any scheme. The Court affirmed contractual workers' entitlement to PF benefits (being direct employees paid directly, not through contractors). Benefits were ordered from January 2017 (writ petition date) to December 2019, with the company paying 12% simple interest on arrears and employees paying matching contributions at 6% interest. From January 2020 onwards, normal PF contributions apply.
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