N.K. Sodhi, C.J.@mdashThis order will dispose of W.A. No. 1197 of 2002 arising out of O.P. No. 1213 of 1998 and also W.P.(C) No. 9677
of 2004 which has been referred to be heard by a Division Bench along with the Writ Appeal as common questions of law- and fact arise in both
the cases. While allowing O.P. No. 1213 of 1998 (William Raynold v. Kerala Motor Transport Workers'' Welfare Fund Board 2002 (3) KLT
377 the learned Single Judge has held that the amount due from an employer in pursuance of the provisions of the Kerala Motor Transport
Workers'' Welfare Fund Act, 1985 (for short ""the Act"") is not ""public revenue due on land"" within the meaning of Cl.(j) of Section 2 of the Kerala
Revenue Recovery Act, 1968 (hereinafter called ''the Revenue Recovery Act''), and therefore the same could not be recovered by arrest of the
defaulter and his detention in prison u/s 65 of the latter Act. The correctness of this view has been doubted by a learned Single Judge in W.P.(C)
No. 9677 of 2004 and that is why it was ordered to be heard along with the Writ Appeal.
2. The short question that arises for consideration in these two cases is - whether the view taken by the learned Single Judge in William Raynold''s
case (supra) is correct?
3. Since the question involved in these cases is purely legal, it is not necessary to refer to the facts in detail. Respondent No. 1 in the Writ Appeal
and the petitioner in the Writ Petition are the employers who are in arrears of the amount due from them under the provisions of the Act and in one
case a notice u/s 65 of the Revenue Recovery Act has been issued to the employer to recover the arrears by issue of a warrant of arrest and in the
other case a demand notice has been issued for the recovery of arrears by attachment and sale of immovable property. It is urged on behalf of the
employers that the amount due from them is not ""public revenue due on land"" and therefore the same cannot be recovered under the provisions of
the Revenue Recovery Act. Before we deal with this issue, it is necessary to refer to the relevant provisions of the Act and also those of the
Revenue Recovery Act.
4. The Act has been enacted to provide for the constitution of a fund to promote the welfare of. the motor transport workers in the State of
Kerala. The State Government has framed a scheme u/s 3 of the Act called the ""Motor Transport Workers'' Welfare Fund Scheme"" whereunder a
fund has been established which vests in and is administered by the Kerala Motor Transport Workers'' Welfare Fund Board (hereinafter called
''the Board'') constituted u/s 6 of the Act. An employer and his employees have both to make contributions to the fund and it is the employer who,
in the first instance, has to pay the contributions payable both by him and by the persons employed by him. Section 10 of the Act provides that if
any amount due from an employer in pursuance of the provisions of the Act or the scheme is in arrear, the same shall be recovered together with
interest thereon at the rate of 9 per cent per annum in the same manner as an arrear of public revenue due on land. Section 10 of the Act which is
relevant for our purpose is reproduced hereunder for facility of reference.
10. Mode of recovery of moneys due from employers.- Any amount due from the employer in pursuance of the provisions of this Act or the
Scheme, other than an amount payable under Sub-section (1) of Section 9, may, if the amount is in arrear, be recovered together with interest
thereon at the rate of nine per cent per annum in the same manner as an arrear of public revenue due on land.
5. The Revenue Recovery Act has been enacted by the State Legislature to consolidate and amend the laws relating to the recovery of arrears of
public revenue in the State of Kerala. It provides that public revenue due on any land shall be the first charge on that land, the buildings upon it and
on the produce thereof. Section 4 provides that every landholder shall pay to the Collector or any Officer authorized by him the public revenue due
on any land held by him on or before the day on which it falls due. S .5 then provides for the manner in which arrears of public revenue due on land
are to be recovered. It provides for four different methods to recover such arrears, namely, (a) by attachment and sale of the defaulter''s movable
property, (b) by attachment and sale of defaulter''s immovable property, (c) by appointing an agent for the management of the defaulter''s
immovable property and (d) by arrest of the defaulter and his detention in prison. Chapter II of the Revenue Recovery Act provides a detailed
procedure to be followed when the arrears are to be recovered by attachment and sale of movable property. Similarly, Chapter III deals with the
procedure to be followed for the recovery of arrears by attachment and sale of immovable property Section 65 provides that when arrears of
public revenue due on land with interest thereon are not paid after the service of the written demand u/s 34, the same can be recovered by the
Collector by issuing a warrant for the arrest of the defaulter. Chapter IV of the Revenue Recovery Act deals with miscellaneous matters and
Section 68 therein provides that this Act can be made applicable for the recovery of certain other dues to the Government. Section 71 then deals
with the power of the State Government to declare that this Act would be applicable to any institution for the recovery of amounts due from any
person or class of persons to any specified institution or any class of institutions and upon such a declaration being made, the provisions of this Act
would apply to such recovery. The relevant provisions of the Revenue Recovery Act which concern us read as under:
2 (a) ''arrear of public revenue due on land'' means the whole or any portion of any kist or instalment of such revenue not paid on the day on
which it falls due according to the kistbandy or any engagement or usage;
xxx xxx xxx xxx
2(J) ''public revenue due on land'' means the land revenue charged on the land and includes all other taxes, fees and cesses on land, whether
charged on land or not, and all cesses or other dues payable to the Government on account of water used for purposes of irrigation.
65. Arrest in case of wilful and fraudulent non payment of arrears.- (1) When arrears of public revenue due on land, with interest thereon and cost
of process, are not paid after the service of the written demand under S .34 and the District Collector is satisfied that the defaulter or his surety is
wilfully withholding payment of the arrears, or has dishonestly transferred any part of his property, or has been guilty of fraudulent conduct in order
to evade payment, or that the defaulter has the means to pay the arrears or some substantial part thereof and refuses or neglects to pay the same,
or the proceeds of the sale of the property of the defaulter and his surety are not sufficient to liquidate the arrears with interest thereon and cost of
process, he may issue a warrant for the arrest of the defaulter. No such warrant shall be issued before serving a notice upon the defaulter calling
upon him to appear before the District Collector at the time and place specified in the notice and to show cause why he should not be committed
to the civil prison. The District Collector shall, on the appearance of the defaulter, hear him and consider such other evidence as may be produced
by him. Upon the conclusion of the enquiry, the District Collector may, if he is convinced that such course is necessary, make an order for the
detention of the defaulter in the civil prison and shall, in that event, cause him to be arrested:
Provided that, in order to give the defaulter an opportunity to clear the arrears, the District Collector may, before making the order of detention,
grant him time not exceeding thirty days on his furnishing security to the satisfaction of the District Collector for his appearance at the expiration of
the specified period. If the arrears are not paid by that date, the District Collector shall pass orders for the arrest and the detention of the defaulter
in the civil prison of his district, or, if there is no suitable accommodation in that civil prison, in the civil prison of any neighbouring district.
68. Application of the Act for the recovery of certain other dues to Government.-
(1) All sums due to the Government on account of quit rent or revenue other than public revenue due on land:
all moneys due from any person to the Government which a written agreement executed by such person are recoverable as arrears of public
revenue due on land or land revenue, and all specific pecuniary penalties to which such person renders himself liable under such agreement or
contract;
all sums declared by any other law for the time being in force to be recoverable as arrear of public revenue due on land or land revenue; and all
fees and other dues payable by any person to the Government, may be recovered under the provisions of this Act.
71. Power of Government to declare the Act applicable to any institution.-The
Government may, by notification in the Gazette, declare, if they are satisfied that it is necessary to do so in public interest, that the provisions of this
Act shall be applicable to the recovery of amounts due from any person or class of persons to any specified institution or any class or classes of
institutions, and thereupon all the provisions of this Act shall be applicable to such recovery.
It is common case of the parties that S.R.O. No. 691 of 1988 was issued on 7th June, 1988 under S .71 of the Revenue Recovery Act declaring
that the provisions of the said Act shall be applicable to the recovery of amounts due from any person or class of persons to the Board.
6. The argument of the learned Counsel for the appellant is that in view of the provisions of Section 10 of the Act read with Section 68 of the
Revenue Recovery Act, arrears of the amount due from the employer to the Board together with interest thereon is recoverable in the same
manner as an arrear of public revenue due on land and therefore all the provisions of the Revenue Recovery Act would apply and the appellant
would be entitled to recover the amount by issuing a warrant for the arrest of the defaulter which is one of the modes of recovery. The learned
Counsel for the employer, on the other hand, contended that Section 10 only provides that any amount due from an employer under the Act could
be recovered in the same manner as an arrear of public revenue due on land and that it does not declare the arrears under the Act as arrears of
public revenue due on land and therefore the provisions of the Revenue Recovery Act would not be applicable. The argument is that if the arrears
under the Act were to become arrears of public revenue due on land, the provisions of Cl.(j) of S,2 of the Revenue Recovery Act ought to have
been amended to include the arrears due from an employer under the Act. Since this has not been done, it is urged that the arrears due under the
Act cannot be recovered under the Revenue Recovery Act.
7. We have given our thoughtful consideration to the rival contentions of the parties and are of the view that there is merit in what is contended on
behalf of the appellant in the Writ Appeal. Section 10 of the Act provides that the arrears due from an employer under the Act could be recovered
together with interest thereon ""in the same manner as an arrear of public revenue due on land"". The words ''in the same manner'' clearly suggest that
the authorities seeking to recover the arrears would follow the same procedure which they would follow while recovering the arrears of public
revenue due on land as provided in the Revenue Recovery Act. In other words, the Act has declared that the arrears recoverable thereunder could
be recovered by the procedure followed under the Revenue Recovery Act. It is true that the term ""public revenue due on land"" has been defined in
Cl.(j) of Section 2 of the Revenue Recovery Act and that the amounts due under the Act do not fall within this definition but that does not mean
that the amount due under the Act cannot be recovered under the Revenue Recovery Act. When Section 10 of the Act declares that the arrears
due from the employer under the Act could be recovered in the same mariner as arrears of public revenue due on land, it follows that all the
provisions of the Revenue Recovery Act would become applicable. The Revenue Recovery Act has been enacted not only to recover ""arrears of
public revenue due on land"" but also ""all sums declared by any other law for the time being in force to be recoverable as arrears of public revenue
due on land or land revenue"". Section 10 having made this declaration would make the provisions of the Revenue Recovery Act automatically
applicable. Moreover, u/s 71 of the Revenue Recovery Act, the State Government issued S.R.O. No. 691 of 1988 dated 7th June 1988 declaring
that the provisions of the Revenue Recovery Act shall be applicable to the recovery of amounts due from any person or class of persons to the
Board under the Act. With the issuance of this notification, all amounts due under the Act can be recovered by following the procedure prescribed
under the Revenue Recovery Act because Section 71 of the Revenue Recovery Act provides that upon a declaration being made under this
provision, ""all the provisions of this Act shall be applicable to such recovery"". The words ""all the provisions of this Act shall be applicable to such
recovery"" were insetted only to obviate the necessity of amending the other provisions of the Revenue Recovery Act to recover the amounts
declared to be recoverable under the Revenue Recovery Act. It would follow that Cl .(j) of Section 2 of the Revenue Recovery Act would not
require any amendment and that this clause will be deemed to include the arrears due from the employer under the Act and such arrears will
partake the character of ""arrears of public revenue due on land"" because of the declaration u/s 71 of the Revenue Recovery Act. If the argument of
the employer was to be accepted that even after the declarations made u/s 10 of the Act and u/s 71 of the Revenue Recovery Act, Cl.(j) of
Section 2 of the Revenue Recovery Act had to be amended to include the amounts due from an employer under the Act before the same could be
recovered under the Revenue Recovery Act, then the declarations made will have no meaning. This could not be the intention of the Legislature.
We have, therefore, no hesitation in holding that the arrears due from the employer under the provisions of the Act are arrears of public revenue
due on land which could be recovered by resorting to the provisions of the Revenue Recovery Act. The view that we have taken finds support
from a Division Bench Judgment of this Court in Subhadra v. State of Kerala (1995 (1) KLT 32) and also by a Single Bench judgment of this
Court in Baby v. State of Kerala and Ors. 1981 KLT 510.
For the reasons recorded above, the Writ Appeal succeeds and the same is allowed. The order of the learned Single Judge taking a contrary view
is set aside and O.P. No. 1213 of 1998 dismissed. W.P.(C) No. 9677 of 2004 in which the notice issued under the Revenue Recovery Act for
the recovery of arrears due from the employer in pursuance of the provisions of the Act is under challenge is also dismissed leaving the parties to
bear their own costs in both the cases.