10 years delay in PF transfer proved costly, consumer court imposed fine of Rs 50 thousand on EPFO

Chandigarh: For working professionals, the biggest asset for their future is the money deposited in the Employees Provident Fund (EPFO). If government departments are careless about this hard-earned money, then it is no less than a big fraud. Recently, Chandigarh District Consumer Court has given such a historic decision, which will prove to be a big example for lakhs of employees across the country who are troubled by the delay in PF transfer or withdrawal. The court has found EPFO ​​guilty of deficiency in service and has ordered a compensation of Rs 50,000 to the victim employee, who has been sitting on applications for 10 years.

Application was made in 2010, officials woke up in 2020

The roots of the case date back to 2009. The victim employee Garg was working in Tech Mahindra Company of Pune at that time. He resigned from there in February 2009 and joined Infosys Company in July 2010. His new PF account was opened in the new company, after which he applied to merge (transfer) his old and new accounts in September 2010. But such was the slowness of the department that no action was taken on it for years. Garg followed up several times and even filed an RTI in 2011, but still no solution was found.

When scissors were used on interest money, the matter reached the court.

After a long wait of almost a decade, in April 2020, EPFO ​​transferred Rs 6.21 lakh from his old account to the new account. However, Garg claimed that the amount should have been Rs 11.07 lakh with interest for 10 years. When he raised questions on receiving less money, EPFO ​​argued that his account had become ‘inoperative’, hence he could not be given the benefit of interest for a few years. Fed up with this stubborn attitude of the department, Garg approached the Chandigarh Dispute Redressal Commission in July 2021.

The excuse of software glitch did not work

During the hearing in the consumer court, EPFO’s lawyers argued that there was a delay in transferring money due to a technical glitch in the software. However, the court rejected this argument outright. The Commission, in its decision delivered on March 16, 2026, made it clear that an employee cannot be deprived of his rights on the pretext of software problem. The department could not present any concrete evidence in the court that could justify this huge delay of 10 years.

9 percent interest will have to be paid along with compensation

The court termed it as outright ‘deficiency in service’ and ordered EPFO ​​to pay compensation of Rs 50,000 to the victim for mental harassment and legal expenses. The court also took a tough stand that if there is a delay in giving the compensation amount, the department will also have to pay interest on it at the rate of 9 percent per annum. This decision is a ray of hope for all those PF account holders who are victims of the slowness of the system.