The court emphasized the primacy of the scheme for discharging liabilities under the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction over the statutory provisions of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.

This is a gratuity claim.

2. The writ petitioner worked in an enterprise M/s. Kusum Products Ltd., the respondent No. 2.

3. On or about 31st March, 2002 the affairs of the respondent-company were referred to the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction under SICA, 1985.

4. On 11th July, 2002 he resigned. His resignation was accepted.

5. By an order made on 31st January, 2013, this company was released by the Board with effect from 24th January, 2012. On 12th June, 2014 the petitioner received a sum of Rs. 1,37,489.54 from the company towards gratuity.

6. According to the writ petitioner, a sum of Rs. 93,261/- is due and payable on account of interest as on the date of filing of the writ application. Interest has only been partly paid.

7. According to Mr. Majumder, statutory interest on gratuity was paid from 1st April, 2012 to 28th February, 2014.

8. Now the question is; is the writ petitioner entitled to interest as claimed ?

9. Under section 4 of the Pay of Gratuity Act, 1972, gratuity is payable to an employee on the termination of the employment of continuous service of 5-years or more, inter alia his resignation. Therefore, upon resignation of the writ petitioner on 11th July, 2002, he became entitled to payment of gratuity. Under section 7 (3) of the said Act, the employer’s obligation is to pay this gratuity within 30 days from the date it became payable. If not paid, the employer shall pay simple interest at the Central Government notified rate.

10. Now on or about 21st March, 2002, the affairs of the respondent-company were referred to the Board. The Board sanctioned a scheme of revival of the company on 24th January, 2012. In the scheme, the cut off date was mentioned as 31st March, 2010.

11. On 31st January, 2013, the Board declared that the company ceased to a sick industrial company within the meaning of SICA and that it was discharged from the purview of the said Act and released from the jurisdiction of the Board.

12. SICA is a special statute having over-riding effect. It inter alia provides in Section 18(8) thereof that its orders would bind all persons, bodies, corporate, statutory bodies and so on.

13. Therefore, any provision of the scheme for discharging of liabilities would have primacy over its mode of discharge prescribed by any other statute.

14. Upon examination of the scheme, there is no specific reference to discharge of the gratuity liability of the company. Therefore, in my opinion, the company was liable to pay gratuity in accordance with the provisions of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. But the scheme which is binding on all persons states that the cut off date for all liabilities was 31st March, 2010. Therefore, the petitioner could not claim from the company any sum towards liability accrued prior to 31st March, 2010. In other words, the petitioner would only be entitled to gratuity from 1st April, 20190 till the date of payment at the rate mentioned in Section 7 (3) of the said Act. The company has paid the petitioner interest on gratuity from 1st April, 2012 till 28th February, 2014.

15. Therefore, I direct the company to calculate gratuity inclusive of interest from 1st April, 2010 till 28th February, 2014. From the said sum the company will deduct the amount already paid. The balance sum with the statutory interest from 1st March, 2014 till the date of payment should be paid by 31st October, 2015.

16. In the facts and circumstances of this case, the petitioner will be entitled to Rs. 25.000/- as costs.

17. The ww