Bombay High Court orders Vivek Pal's release from jail

A man has been released from Mumbai's Arthur Road jail after the Bombay High Court found faults with his arrest. The court ruled that authorities should not have sent him to a criminal jail when the law allows for civil prison in certain cases. The man, Vivek Pal, had been arrested due to a partnership firm's alleged failure to pay around Rs 50 lakh in Employee Provident Fund (EPF) dues from 2011 to 2016. However, the court observed that he did not receive a required hearing before his arrest last month. This hearing was supposed to follow a show cause notice issued in July 2022. Justice Riyaz Chagla ordered Pal's immediate release on March 17. He highlighted that civil and criminal prisons serve different purposes. Since there are no civil jails in Mumbai, Pal should not have been kept in a criminal facility as an undertrial prisoner. Pal challenged his February 3 arrest warrant, claiming it was illegal. His lawyers argued that the recovery officer had no legal grounds for the arrest. On the other side, the EPF department defended its actions, stating they were appropriate. After reviewing both sides' arguments, the court found that officials forced Pal to sign an undertaking related to the dues without giving him a proper hearing. They also noted that the recovery notice was incorrectly placed on his home instead of the business location. The court ruled that the arrest did not meet the legal requirements set forth in the EPF Act. It noted that the firm Pal worked for had been failing to comply with the law, yet actions were not taken against them.