ORDER :

The petitioners/Verma Industrial Private Limited and IBC Knowledge Park Private Limited (hereinafter referred to as ‘1st Company and 2nd Company respectively’ for short) have called in question the order of the Controlling Authority under the Payment Gratuity Act, 1972 (‘the Act’ for short) directing payment of interest against the 1st petitioner and payment of gratuity in respect of the 2nd petitioner. For the sake of convenience the petitioners will be referred to as petitioners and the respondent as the workman in this order.

2. Brief facts leading to the filing of the present common writ petition, as borne out from the pleadings, are as under :

The 1st respondent/workman was an employee of petitioners’ companies who joined the services of the 1st petitioner on 2-08-1971 and was due to retire on attaining the age of superannuation on 20th October, 2002 after rendering about 31 years of service, by which point of time., the workman joined the 2nd petitioner/Company as a fresh candidate and worked there up to 15-01-2015. After completion of the aforesaid services, the petitioner gave a representation demanding payment of gratuity amount from the hands of the 1st petitioner co