Section 5DD of EPF Act, 1952: Acts and Proceedings Not Invalidated Due to Vacancy or Defect
Section 5DD protected acts and proceedings of the Central Board, its Executive Committee and a State Board from being questioned merely because a vacancy existed in the body or there was a defect in its constitution.
Text of former Section 5DD
Section 5DD - Acts and proceedings of the Central Board or its Executive Committee or the State Board not to be invalidated on certain grounds.
No act done or proceeding taken by the Central Board or the Executive Committee constituted under section 5AA or the State Board shall be questioned on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of, the Central Board or the Executive Committee or the State Board, as the case may be.
Meaning and scope of Section 5DD
The provision was a statutory validation clause. Its purpose was to prevent an act or proceeding of the specified EPF authorities from being challenged merely because a seat was vacant or because there was a defect in the constitution of the relevant Board or Committee.
- Central Board: the Board constituted under the EPF legislation for administration of the statutory provident fund framework.
- Executive Committee: the committee referred to in former Section 5AA of the EPF Act.
- State Board: the State Board referred to in the former statutory framework.
- Vacancy: an unfilled position in the concerned statutory body.
- Defect in constitution: a defect concerning the composition or constitution of that body.
What Section 5DD did not say
The wording was limited by the expression "merely". It protected proceedings against a challenge based only on a vacancy or defect in constitution. It did not state that every act of a Board or Committee was valid irrespective of other statutory requirements, jurisdictional limits or applicable law.
Current corresponding provision: Section 9(3) of the Code on Social Security, 2020
Section 9 deals with the procedure for transaction of business of Social Security Organisations. Section 9(3) carries forward the same basic validation principle in broader language covering a Social Security Organisation or any Committee thereof.
Section 9(3), Code on Social Security, 2020:
No act done or proceeding taken by a Social Security Organisation or any Committee thereof shall be questioned on the ground merely of the existence of any vacancy in, or any defect in the constitution of the Social Security Organisation or the Committee thereof, as the case may be.
Repeal and savings
Section 164 of the Code on Social Security, 2020 repeals the Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 along with other social security enactments. Section 164 also contains savings for specified actions, rules, regulations, notifications, schemes, appointments, orders, directions, benefits and exemptions, subject to the terms stated in that section.
Practical legal effect
For matters governed by the present law, Section 9(3) of the Code on Social Security, 2020 is the relevant provision on vacancies and defects in the constitution of Social Security Organisations and their committees. Former Section 5DD is principally relevant to the earlier EPF Act framework and to issues preserved by applicable savings provisions.
Official legal sources
For authoritative text and updates, refer to the official India Code text of the Code on Social Security, 2020, the official Employees' Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 archive, and the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation.
Updated: 25 September 2026. This page explains the statutory provision for general legal information. For a dispute involving the effect of repeal, savings, a particular proceeding or the constitution of an authority, the governing notifications and facts should also be examined.