# In the matter of Radhakrishnan Dharmarajan, Liquidator vs. Central Board of Trustees, EPF & Ors.

> HC judgment dated 2023-11-15. Citation: TCN-2023-HC-00017. The case involves a Writ Petition filed by R.Dharmarajan, the Company Liquidator appointed by the…

- **Court:** HC
- **Order date:** 15 Nov 2023
- **Citation:** TCN-2023-HC-00017
- **Category:** IBC
- **Source page:** https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/high-courts-new-delhi/radhakrishnan-dharmarajan-liquidator-vs-central-board-of-trustees-epf-ors-73436325

## Summary

### Background

The case involves a Writ Petition filed by R.Dharmarajan, the Company Liquidator appointed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for M/s. Flora Footwear Private Limited. The petition challenges an order dated 23.03.2022 issued by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation, Regional Office, Chennai, through the 2nd respondent, which was based on a letter dated 08.03.2022 from the 1st respondent, Central Board of Trustees, EPF, New Delhi. The petitioner is contesting the rejection of a request for waiver of damages related to Provident Fund dues, arguing that the rejection was based on outdated provisions of the Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions) Act, 1985, specifically referencing the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR), which is

…

## Facts

R.Dharmarajan, appointed as the Company Liquidator for M/s. Flora Footwear Private Limited by the NCLT, filed a Writ Petition challenging an order issued by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The challenge stems from the EPFO's rejection of a request to waive damages related to Provident Fund dues. M/s. Flora Footwear Private Limited faced Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process initiated by two permanent employees, D.Arasalingam and G. Sivakumar, under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The NCLT appointed Anandarajan Balaji as Interim Resolution Professional. Subsequently, the NCLT ordered the liquidation of Flora Footwear and appointed R.Dharmarajan as the Company Liquidator. A public announcement was made on 16.09.2019, inviting

…

## Issues and analysis

### Issue 1: Whether the rejection of the waiver request for damages related to Provident Fund dues by the …

**Ratio:** The court held that the decision to grant or reject a waiver is within the prerogative of

…

**Reasoning:** The court reasoned that the rejection based on the outdated BIFR provisions indicated a

…

**Interpretation:** The court interpreted that while the 1st respondent has the authority to decide

…

**Application:** The court applied this reasoning to the specific facts by setting aside the

…

## Parties

- **Judges:** R.HEMAL…
- **Appellants:** Radhakrishnan…
- **Respondents:** Flora Footwear…; Central Board of…

## Timeline

- **2016-12-01 — Dissolution…**: BIFR was dissolved, and all proceedings were referred to NCLT and NCLAT as per the…
- **2019-01-02 — Order in CP/127…**: Date of the order in CP/1279/IB/2018…

## Legal provisions

- [Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, Section 9 — Application for initiation of corporate insolvency…](https://caseease.in/legal-provisions/insolvency-and-bankruptcy-code-2016/section-9)

---

This is a preview. The full structured summary, issues, precedents and source judgment are available on CaseEase - Legal Intelligence Simplified: https://caseease.in/cases/ibc/high-courts-new-delhi/radhakrishnan-dharmarajan-liquidator-vs-central-board-of-trustees-epf-ors-73436325