V. Chitambaresh, J.

1. Too many cooks spoil the broth and too many judgments on a point add to the confusion. We shall rest our conclusion mainly on the statutory provisions therefore for clarity. The term 'gratuity' has neither been defined in the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 ['the Central Act for short] nor in the Kerala Co-operative Societies Act, 1969 ['the State Act' for short]. But decisions are legion that 'gratuity' is deferred wages to the employee and is a reward for having rendered long and unblemished service thereby contributing to the prosperity of the employer. S. 4 of the Central Act provides for the payment of gratuity and is as follows:

"4. Payment of gratuity.--(1) Gratuity shall be payable to an employee on the termination of his employment after he has rendered continuous service for not less than five years,-

(a) on his superannuation, or

(b) on his retirement or resignation, or

(c) on his death or disablement due to accident or disease:

Provided that the completion of continuous service of five years shall not be necessary where the termination of the employment of any employee is due to death or disablement:

Provided further that in the case of death of the