A Division Bench of the Kerala High Court upheld a government order exempting primary co-operative society employees from the Employees Provident Fund and Miscellaneous Provisions Act (EPF and MP Act), placing them under the Kerala State Cooperative Employees’ Pension Board scheme instead.
Justices Anil K. Narendran and Muralee Krishna S. dismissed an appeal by Palode Cooperative Bank employees challenging a prior ruling that denied their request to remain under the EPF scheme.
The court noted that once exemption is granted under Section 17(1-C), employees cannot insist on EPF coverage.
