The Telangana High Court single bench of Justice C V Bhaskar Reddy has ordered the Regional PF Commissioner II Regional Office 1, Hyderabad, to release the PF accounts of TGRTC employees. The judge has asked the RTC managing director and the PF commissioner to submit their counter affidavits by July 15.
The case was brought to the court by the RTC MD, who requested the suspension of prohibitory orders from the PF Commissioner. These orders directed the Union Bank of India to freeze RTC accounts due to unpaid PF contributions deducted from employee salaries. The RTC deducted Rs. 40 crore for PF but used the amount for operational expenses instead of depositing it into employee accounts. This has left Rs. 900 crore in pending PF payments from March 2014 to September 2019.
Sudershan Reddy, Advocate-General representing the RTC MD, argued that the RTC’s bifurcation between AP and Telangana under the AP Reorganisation Act, 2014 was not completed properly. The PF Commissioner’s demands for payment involve both states’ RTCs, with ongoing discussions to resolve the issue.
