Indusfood Manufacturing 2026 & FoodTech 4.0 Opens at Yashobhoomi (See 'Corp Brief') CCI approves acquisition of Krosaki Harima Corporation by Nippon Steel (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Right to object to appointment of ineligible arbitrator cannot be taken away by mere implication: SC (See 'Legal Desk') CCI okays acquisition of additional shareholding in Roppen Transportation by MIH Investments (See 'Corp Brief') Ministry of I&B's WaveX signs MoU with FITT-IIT Delhi to boost Innovation (See 'Corp Brief') A&C - Conferment of jurisdiction on specific court or creation of public forum, though eminently significant, may not be decisive test to answer and decide whether arbitrability is impliedly barred: SC (See 'Legal Desk') Working Group discusses Regional Language AI Infrastructure and Reimagining AI Education (See 'Corp Brief') Pax Comfort and Safety enhanced with better Stations: Railways (See 'Corp Brief') IPR - Gaay Chhap had shown prior and continuous use of its marks and made out strong prima facie case of trademark infringement and passing off: HC (See 'Legal Desk') IBBI Chairperson launches IICA PGIP program Website (See 'Corp Brief') Yadav reviews Action Plans of Rajasthan and Punjab to tackle Air Pollution (See 'Corp Brief') IPR - Even if trademark is accepted and advertised and, thereafter, no objection was filed against same, Sec 19 of Trade marks Act empowers Registrar to withdraw acceptance given to said Mark before its registration: HC (See 'Legal Desk') SAIL records Highest-Ever December Sales (See 'Corp Brief') Rajiv Ranjan Singh inaugurates Smart Green Aquaculture Farm (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - It is not the case of the respondent that the petitioner at any point of time was an accused in the investigation or he was evading arrest - Essential requisites of s.73 of CrPC not met - Non-bailable warrants issued stand cancelled: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Railways utilises 80 Percent of CAPEX in First Three Quarters (See 'Corp Brief') Ships built by GSL & other yards are floating symbols of India's sovereignty: RM (See 'Corp Brief') Misc - A litigant cannot be placed in a situation where a statutory right of appeal is rendered illusory on account of procedural or administrative impediments: HC (See 'Legal Desk') Govt announces relaxation for Deep-Tech Startups for DSIR recognition (See 'Corp Brief') ICAR directed to set up laboratory for turmeric testing in Erode (See 'Corp Brief') SEBI - Levy of penalty shall commensurate to disproportionate gain or unfair advantage or loss caused to investor: SEBI (See 'Legal Desk') Fixed-Term Employment fixed under New Labour Codes (See CORP EINSICHT) Competition Law - When opposite party is not dominant in relevant market, question of abuse of dominant position u/s 4 of Competition Act does not arise: CCI (See 'Legal Desk') NTPC Western Region-I signs MoA with Gujarat Cancer & Research Institute (See 'Corp Brief') PMLA - COVID-19 limitation extension was intended to cover all proceedings, including those under PMLA: SAFEMA (See 'Legal Desk') Coal Output surges as Captive and Commercial Mines Perform Strongly (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Non- stamping or insufficient stamping of one of documents relied upon by creditor does not impede initiation of insolvency resolution process, which differs from enforcement action: NCLT (See 'Legal Desk') National Textiles Ministers' Conference to be held in Guwahati (See 'Corp Brief') IBC - Penalty can be levied if lapses demonstrated non-compliance with statutory and regulatory obligations incumbent on IP, undermining interests of stakeholders and integrity of insolvency process: IBBI (See 'Legal Desk')

Print

Virtual hearing under EPF to deliver affordable adjudication: Govt

Published: Sep 14, 2020

By TIOLCORPLAWS News Service

NEW DELHI, SEPT 14, 2020: Launch of virtual hearing in quasi-judicial cases under EPF & MP Act, 1952 has now heralded an era of providing expeditious and affordable adjudication.

This is part of a series of initiatives taken by EPFO to improve the ease of doing business, a new facility for conducting virtual hearing in quasi-judicial cases by use of secure IT applications, which was launched by Sh. Santosh Kumar Gangwar,  Minister of State (I/C), Labour and Employment in 227th meeting of Central Board of Trustees, Employees' Provident Fund, conducted virtually on 9th September 2020.

With the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and need to practice social distancing restrictions, virtual hearings are being conducted in most of the district and sessions courts. This is as per the guidelines of Hon'ble Supreme Court of India and the concerned High Courts to ensure timely disposal of the cases during pandemic. In the same spirit and with a view to provide expeditious and affordable adjudication to its establishments and subscribers, hearings under sections 7A and 14B of Employees' Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, will be conducted in virtual mode.

Virtual court is a concept aimed at eliminating need for physical presence of litigant and lawyers by facilitating adjudication of the case through online mode.

To facilitate this, virtual hearing utilities have been integrated with EPFO's  e-Court process on Compliance e-Proceedings Portal (https://eproceedings.epfindia.gov.in). This will facilitate issue of e-notices, real time recording of proceedings and communication of orders. Case status including the daily and final orders will now be accessible to all parties on the portal.

There are several benefits of hearing through video conferencing including no requirement of physical presence wherein parties do travel miles to be present in person for hearing and at the same time, it will be cost and time effective for the employers. Most importantly this will reduce carbon footprint. Digitization will reduce the number of pendency of cases and will be an effective remedy for delayed justice.

In addition, unnecessary adjournments due to non-appearance of parties could now be avoided resulting in fast tracking of dispute resolution and assessment of dues of workers to generate better confidence in the quasi-judicial mechanism. Hearing in online mode is a move towards the ultimate objective of faceless assessment.

The launch was made after successful pilot run of the same at two regional offices of EPFO in the months of July & August, 2020. During the pilot run, virtual hearings were conducted through online meeting utilities in 90 quasi-judicial cases, which were attended by higher management of establishments leading to quick disposals, consent orders and immediate compliances. Employers have appreciated the ease and convenience of participation in virtual hearings particularly during pandemic.

EPFO is continuously making endeavors to use the latest trends and technologies by effectively harnessing its in-house capabilities to extend nirbadh i.e. seamless services to stakeholders during Covid-19 pandemic.

 

TIOL CORP SEARCH

TIOL GROUP WEBSITES

taxindiaonline
taxindiainternational
tioltube
TKF
TIOLawards
A TIOL Website. Copyright © 2025 TIOLcorplaws.com All rights reserved.