The Supreme Court on Friday disposed of a PIL concerning the revision of the wage ceiling under the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) Scheme after taking note of submissions that, according to newspaper reports, the Union Cabinet had approved raising the existing ₹15,000 wage ceiling to ₹25,000. The Bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice R. Mahadevan has disposed of the PIL.
During the hearing, counsel for the petitioner submitted that the Cabinet had reportedly approved the revision of the wage ceiling from ₹15,000 to ₹25,000. However, it was pointed out that the formal notification had not yet been issued. He also raised a broader concern over the absence of periodic revision of the EPF wage ceiling. He said that the ₹15,000 figure had remained unchanged for around 12 years and observed that even the proposed ₹25,000 ceiling could eventually fall below prevailing minimum wages if it was not revised periodically.
The Bench took note of the submission and observed that, in view of the reported Cabinet decision, consequential steps would follow.
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“We have heard Learned Council for Petitioner. He submitted that no doubt, the cabinet has approved the revision of wage ceiling from rupees 15,000 to rupees 25,000. However, the notification has not yet been issued. We take note of the said submission and we find that the writ petition would not call for any further consideration. As we think that following the cabinet decision, the consequential steps would be taken by the respondents.”
The court however declined to pass any direction on periodic revisions.
The petitioner had earlier approached the Supreme Court challenging the continued ₹15,000 ceiling, which has remained unchanged since 2014. In January 2026, the Court had directed the Centre to consider the issue after the petitioner highlighted the disparity between the EPF ceiling and minimum wages in several parts of the country.