The Kerala Payment of Subsistence Allowance Act, 1972 (Act 27 of 1973).

THE KERALA PAYMENT OF SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE 
ACT, 1972* 
(Act 27 of 1973) 
An Act to provide for the payment of subsistence allowance 
to the employees in certain establishments during the 
period of suspension. 
Preamble.—WHEREAS it is expedient to provide f or the 
payment of subsistence allowance to the employees in certain 
establishments during the period of suspension, 
BE it enacted in the Twenty -third Year of the Republic of India 
as follows.— 
1 Short title, extent and commencement .—(1) This Act may be 
called the Kerala Payment of Subsistence Allowance Act, 1972 
(2)  It extends to the whole of the State of Kerala 
(3)  It shall come into force on such date as the Govern ment 
may, by notification in the Gazette, appoint 
2 Definitions —In this Act, unless the context otherwi se 
requires,— 
(a) "employee” means any person employed in or in 
connection with the work of any establishment to do skilled, semi -
skilled or unskilled manual, supervisory, technical, clerical or any 
other kind of work for hire or reward, whether  the terms of 
employment be express or implied, but does not include any such 
person who is employed mainly in a mana gerial or an administrative 
capacity or as an out -worker, that is to say, a person to whom any 
articles or materials are given out by or on behalf of the  employer to 
be cleaned, washed, altered, ornamented or repaired by such out -
worker in any place not under the control and management of the 
employer, 
(b) "employer” means the owner of an establishment and 
includes any person responsible to the owner for super vision and 
control of the establishment; 
(c) "establishment” means any place where any indus try, 
trade, business, undertaking, manufacture, occupation or 
 
 
 
* Published in the Gazette Extraordinary No. 881 dated 14th September, 1973. 
service is carried on, but does not include any office or depart ment of 
any Government or any establishment of any railway, major port, 
mine or oilfield, 
(d) "period of suspension” in a case where express permission 
of the authority under sub -section (1) of section 33 of the Indus trial 
Disputes Act, 1947, is necessary before the employment of an 
employee can be validly terminated includes the period until such 
permission is obtained and termination of service is effected, 
(e)  "prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under 
this Act, 
(f) "suspension” means an interim decision of an employer as 
a result of which an employee is debarred temporarily from attending 
his office and performing his functions in the establishment where he 
is employed, such restriction being imposed on the employee  on the 
ground either that a disciplinary proceeding has already been, or is 
shortly to be, instituted against him or that a criminal proceed ing in 
respect of an offence alleged to have been committed by him is under 
investigation or trial, 
(g) "wages” means all remuneration capable of being 
expressed in terms of money, which would, if the terms of 
employment, expressed or implied, were fulfilled, be payable to an 
employee in respect of his employment or of work done in such 
employment, and includes— 
(i) such allo wances (including dearness allowance) as the 
employee is for the time being entitled to, 
(ii) the value of any house accommodation or of supply of 
light, water, medical attendance or other amenity or of any service or 
of any concessional supply of food-grains or other articles, 
(iii) any travelling concession; 
but does not include— 
(i) any bonus; 
(ii) any contribution paid or payable by the employer to 
any pension fund or provident fund or for the benefit of the employee 
under any law for the time being in force, 
(iii) any gratuity payab le on the termination of his  
service. 
3. Payment of subsistence allowance.—(1) *Provided that  
(a) where the period of  suspension exceeds ninety days  the 
amount of subsistence allowance shall , for the period 
exceeding ninety days, be seventy -five per cent of the wages; 
and 
(b) where the period of suspension exceeds one hundred and 
eighty days,  the amount o f subsistence allowance shall, for 
the period exceeding one hundred and eighty days, be equal 
to the wages, 
which the employee  was drawing immediately before such  
suspension. 
Provided further that an employee shall not be entitled to any 
subsistence allowance if he accepts employment during the period of 
suspension in any establishment other than the establishment 
where he had been working immediately before his suspension. 
(2) An employee shall not in any event be liable to refund or 
forfeit any part of the subsist ence allowance admis sible to hi m 
under sub -section (1), but when an employee is exonerated of the 
charge which caused his suspension, the subsistence allowance paid 
to him for any period shall be adjusted against the full wages 
admissible to him for the same period. 
(3) Where any employee has been placed under sus pension 
before the commencement of this Act and such suspension is in force 
at such commencement, he shall be deemed to have been placed 
under suspension on the date of such commencement 
4. Recovery of money due from an employer .—Where any money 
is due to an employee from an employer under this Act, the 
employee himself or any other person authorised by him in this 
behalf, or, in the case of the death of the employee, his legal 
representative may, without prejudice to any other mode of 
recovery, make an application to the Government in such manner as 
may be prescribed for the recovery of money due to him, and if the 
Government, after giving the employer an opportunity of being 
heard, in such manner as may be prescribed, is satisfied that any 
money is so due, it shall issue a certificate for that amount to the 
Collector who shall proceed to recover the same in the same manner 
as an arrear of land revenue: 
 
Provided that every such application shall be made within one 
year from the date on which the money became due to the employee 
from the employer 
 
      *Substituted vide Act 1 of 1979. 
Provided further that any such application may be enter tained 
after the expiry of the said period of one year, if the Government is 
satisfied that the applicant had sufficient cause for not making the 
application within the said period. 
5. Saving of certain ligh ts an d privileges.—Nothing in this Act 
shall affect any right or privilege to which any employee is entitled 
on the date of commencement of this Act under any law for the time 
being in force or under any contract, custom or usage, which is more 
favourable to him than any right or privilege conferred upon him by 
this Act 
*5A. Act not to apply to certain establishments - Nothing 
contained in this Act shall apply to any public sector undertaking of 
the Central Government. 
6. Delegation of powers  —The Governmen t may, by noti fication 
in the Gazette, direct that any power exercisable by it under this Act 
or the rules made thereunder shall, in relation to such matters and 
subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in such 
notification, be exercisable also by such officer or authority 
subordinate to the Government as may be specified in the said 
notification 
7. Protection of action taken under the Act.—No suit, prosecution 
or other legal proceeding shall lie against any person for anything 
which is in good faith done or intended to be done in pursuance of 
this Act or the rules made thereunder. 
8. Penalties.—Whoever contravenes any provision of this Act or 
any rule made thereunder shall be punishable with imprisonment for 
a term which may extend to three months or with fine which shall be 
not less than one thousand rupees, or with both 
9 Offence by companies, etc  —Where a person committ ing an 
offence under this Act is a company or other body corporate or an 
association of persons (whether incorporated or n ot), every director, 
manager, secretary, agent or other officer or person concerned with 
the management thereof shall, unless he proves that the offence was 
committed without his knowledge or consent, be deemed to be guilty 
of such offence. 
     *Inserted vide Act 1 of 1979. 
 
10 Presumption to be made in certain cases. —In any 
proceedings under section 4 or in any prosecution under section 8, it 
shall be presumed, until the contrary is proved, the burden of 
proving which shall lie on the employer, that there has been an 
interim decision of the  employer as a result of which the employee 
has been debarred temporarily from attending his office and 
performing his functions in the establishment where he is employed. 
11 Cognizance of offences —(1) No court shall take cognizance 
of any offence punishabl e under this Act, save on complaint made 
by, or under the authority of, the Government 
(2) No court inferior to that of a Magistrate of the First Class 
shall try any offence punishable under this Act 
12. Power to make rules  —(1) The Government may, by 
notification in the Gazette, make rules for carrying out the purposes 
of this Act 
(2) Without prejudice to the generality of the fore going 
power, such rules may provide for any matter which may be, or  is 
required to be, prescribed 
(3) Every rule made under this Act s hall be laid, as soon as 
may be after it is made, before the Legislative Assembly while it is 
in session for a total period of fourteen days which may be 
comprised in one session or in two succes sive sessions, and if, before 
the expiry of the session in w hich it is so laid or the session 
immediately following, the Legisla tive Assembly makes any 
modification in the rule or decides that the rule shall not be made, 
the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be 
of on effect, as the ca se may be; so however that any such 
modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity 
of anything previously done under that rule. 

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