JUDGMENT :

UDAY KUMAR J.

1. A legal tussle has spiraled up to this Court seeking a quietus to the primary issues as to whether an employee is entitled to interest on the withheld amount of gratuity upon acquittal in the criminal proceedings pending against him on the date of his retirement and as to whether the provisions of the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972, (hereinafter referred to as the 1972 Act) would override the provisions of the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993 (hereinafter referred to as 1993 Rules).

2. The order dated 23.09.2022 of the learned Central Administrative Tribunal, Kolkata Bench, Kolkata (hereinafter referred to as learned Tribunal) passed in connection with the Original Application 350/461/2020, is the subject matter of challenge in the present writ petition. By the said order the learned Tribunal refused the petitioner’s prayer to direct the respondents to pay interest for delayed payment of the gratuity, which was withheld for about 13 years from the date of his retirement i.e., 31.12.2006.

3. The brief facts are that the petitioner was a Carpenter under the Railways. He joined his services on 06.03.1983 and was superannuated on 31.12.2006 from the post of