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2004 Supreme(Bom) 912

Bombay High Court
Digamber Yeshwantrao Watane
vs
Agricultural Produce Market Committee and Ors.
Appellants : Digamber Yeshwantrao Watane Respondents: Agricultural Produce Market Committee and Ors. Judgment Date: 05, July, 2004 Citations: 2004-MhLJ-3-603 2004-BomCR-6-678 Judges:B.R. Gavai, J.

Headnote:Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 - Section 4(5) and Sections 4(5) and 10, Contract Act, 1872 - employees terms for voluntary retirement including higher amount of gratuity accepted by management - provisions of Section 4(5) having an overriding effect, entitle the petitioner to receive higher amount of gratuity. (1981) 3 SCC 596; AIR 2001 SC 1997 - Relied upon; (1998) 6 SCC 538 - Distinguished.

JUDGMENT

B.R. Gavai, J.

1. 1. The present petition challenges the order passed by the Divisional Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies, Amravati dated 15-7-1989 in Revision No. 6 of 1987, thereby rejecting the revision of the present petitioner.

2. 2. Factual background giving rise to filing of the present is as under:--

That, the petitioner was working as a Secretary in

APMC, Achalpur, the respondent No. 1 herein, since its

inception i.e. 1963. On account of certain grievance,

the petitioner submitted an offer for voluntary

retirement vide his letter dated 28th October, 1986. In

the letter, offering for voluntary retirement, the

petitioner had put certain conditions. The relevant

condition for adjudication of the present petition in the

said letter is Condition No. 2, which reads thus, "that

an amount of gratuity should be paid in accordance with the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 and Rule 34

(C) of Service Conditions of APMC as per the pay payable to the petitioner on the date of retirement."

1. 3. The said letter of the petitioner offering for voluntary retirement was placed before the Committee of the respondent No. 1, APMC in its meeting held on 29th October, 1986. The Committee considered the offer of the petitioner and accepted to give voluntary retirement to the petitioner on certain conditions. The relevant condition for the purposes of the present petition is, "an amount of Rs. 52,440/- should be paid on account of gratuity being twenty months salary. It was also decided in the said meeting that in case in future the pension scheme is applicable to the respondent No. 1, APMC, then in that event the petitioner would be entitled to receive the pension. It is further clarified that if pension scheme is applicable then the petitioner will have to refund certain amount in accordance with the Rules and only on refund of such amount, the pension scheme would be made applicable to the petitioner. The said offer was communicated to the petitioner by letter dated 15-11-1986 by the Chairman of the respondent No. 1, Committee. Along with the said letter, a true copy of the resolution No. 11/3 of the meeting held on 29th October, 1986 was also annexed. The petitioner addressed a letter of the same date i.e. 15-11-1986 to the Chairman of respondent No. 1 stating therein that the decision taken by the respondent No. 1 vide Resolution No. 11/3 in the meeting dated 29th October, 1986 regarding voluntary retirement of the petitioner is acceptable to him and that he will have no future grievance.

.4. The District Deputy Registrar, Co-operative Societies took an objection to the decision of APMC of paying Rs. 52,440/- towards payment of gratuity being twenty months salary. The objection raised was that the said payment was made in

.excess of the provisions of the said Act. Accordingly, the petitioner was sent a communication dated 15-11-1987 by the respondent No. 1 APMC communicating therein that since the service of the petitioner was only 23 years, three months and 15 days, he was entitled only for the salary for 11 months and 20 days towards payment of gratuity. The said amount was quantified at Rs. 30,590/-. It was thus stated in the letter that after adjusting all the payments made to the petitioner, only an amount of Rs. 2, 808 was payable to the petitioner. Vide the said letter, the petitioner was requested to receive the said amount from the office of respondent APMC. Being aggrieved by the objection raised by the DDR and the consequential letter addressed by the APMC, the petitioner filed a revision under Section 43 of the said Act before the Divisional Joint Registrar of Co-operative Societies, Amravati. The Divisional Joint Registrar, Co-operative Societies, respondent No. 2 herein, dismissed the revision application filed by the petitioner vide order dated 15-7-1989. Being aggrieved by the said order, the petitioner has approached this Court.

2. 5. Heard Shri Mihir Kanade, the learned Counsel appearing on behalf of the petiti
















































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