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ARIJIT BANERJEE, PRASENJIT BISWAS
Bhatpara Municipality – Appellant
Versus
Amiya kumar Roy – Respondent
JUDGMENT :
(Arijit Banerjee, J.) :
1. A judgment and order dated December 20, 2023, whereby the writ petition of the respondent no. 1 herein being WPA 26053 of 2023 was disposed of by a learned Judge of this Court, is under challenge in this appeal at the instance of the respondent no. 3 in the writ petition, i.e., Bhatpara Municipality.
2. The respondent no. 1 herein was an employee of Bhatpara Municipality. He retired from service on February 28, 2018.
3. In an earlier round of litigation, alleging that the gratuity amount payable to him upon his superannuation has not been released in his favour, the respondent no. 1 had approached a learned Judge of this Court by filing WPA 11710 of 2020. The main prayer in that writ petition was for a writ of and/or in the nature of mandamus directing the respondents to disburse the gratuity amount along with interest within a specified time period. The writ petition was disposed of by the learned Judge by a judgment and order dated August 5, 2021. The operative portion of the said order reads as follows:-
The right to interest on delayed gratuity payments is statutory and mandatory under Section 7(3-A) of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.
Interpreting Act unequivocally indicate that payment of gratuity would not depend upon employee filing an application before employer demanding gratuity but will have to be paid immediately on cessat....
Retiral benefits, including gratuity and pension, constitute vested property rights under Article 300A; delayed payment breaches the right to livelihood under Article 21, and employers must timely se....
The statutory notification setting the interest rate for gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act is binding until modified by a new notification from the government.
An employer must pay gratuity within 30 days and is liable for interest if delayed, regardless of an employee's application.
The mandatory obligation of employers to pay gratuity within the specified timeframe includes the responsibility to pay interest on delayed payments, as established by the Payment of Gratuity Act.
Employer cannot withhold gratuity for unauthorized retention of quarters post-retirement; statutory interest of 10% applies for delayed payment.
Gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 must include entire continuous service, including stop-gap employment, unless exempted by the appropriate Government.
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