The KERALA PAYMENT OF SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE ACT, 1972

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THE KERALA PAYMENT OF SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE ACT, 1972
(Act 27 of 1973)
CONTENTS
Preamble.
Sections:
1. Short title, extent and commencement.
2. Definitions.
3. Payment of subsistence allowance.
4. Recovery of money due from an employer.
5. Saving of certain rights and privileges.
5A. Act not to apply to certain establishments.
6. Delegation of powers.
7. Protection of action taken under the Act.
8. Penalties.
9. Offence by companies, etc.
10. Presumption to be made in certain cases.
11. Cognizance of offences.
12. Power to make rules.
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ACT 27 OF 1973
THE KERALA PAYMENT OF SUBSISTENCE ALLOWANCE ACT, 1972*
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  for  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 Government may, by notification in
the Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise 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
managerial 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 supervision and control of the establishment;
(c)  “establishment”  means  any  place  where  any  industry,  trade,  business,
undertaking, manufacture, occupation or service is carried on, but does not include any office
or department 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 Industrial 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
* Published in the Gazette Extraordinary No. 881 dated 14th September, 1973.
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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 proceeding 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 allowances (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 payable on the termination of his service.
3.  Payment of subsistence allowance .—(1) Whenever an employee is placed under
suspension,  he  shall  be  paid  by  the  employer  for  the  period  during  which  he  is  under
suspension subsistence allowance of an amount equal to fifty per centum of the wages which
the employee was drawing immediately before such suspension:
1[Provided that, —  
(a)  where  the  period  of  suspension  exceeds  ninety  days,  the  amount  of
subsistence allowance shall, for the period exceeding one hundred and eighty days, wages;
and 
(b) where the period of suspension exceeds one hundred and eight days, the
amount of 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.
1 Substituted by Act 1 of 1979 (w.e.f. 28.02.1979).
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(2) An employee shall not in any event be liable to refund or forfeit any part of the
subsistence allowance admissible to him 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  suspension  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:
Provided further that any such application may be entertained 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 rights and 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.
2[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 Government may, by notification 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.
2 Inserted by Act 1 of 1979 (w.e.f. 28.02.1979).
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9. Offence by companies, etc.—Where a person committing an offence under this Act is
a company or other body corporate or an association of persons (whether incorporated or
not), 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.
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
punishable  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 foregoing power, such rules may
provide for any matter which may be, or is required to be, prescribed.
(3) Every rule made under this Act shall 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 successive sessions, and if, before the
expiry  of  the  session  in  which  it  is  so  laid  or  the  session  immediately  following,  the
Legislative 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 no effect, as
the case 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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