IMPORTANT POINT
Gratuity is a statutory entitlement under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, and employers have a legal obligation to pay it promptly, regardless of the type of educational institution.

JUDGMENT :

ARUN MONGA, J.

1. Petitioners in both the above filed petitions (Managing Committees of their respective School as named in memo of parties), are aggrieved against the orders dated 04.08.2022 and 18.08.2022, respectively, vide which, the learned Non-Government Educational Institutions Tribunal, Jaipur (the ‘Tribunal’), while partly allowing the respective applications filed by private respondents directed the petitioner – institutions to make the payment of gratuity after carrying out pay fixation from their respective dates of superannuation.

2. Relevant facts of the case in CW No. 18124/2022 briefly are that during his lifetime, petitioner Premsukh Gaur (deceased private respondent) filed an application under Section 21 of the Rajasthan Non-Government Education Institutions Act, 1989 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act of 1989’) before the Tribunal stating therein that he was selected/appointed on the post of Assistant Teacher on 12.07.1977 after following the due process. Thereafter he got promotion on the post of Assistant Headmaster and superannuated on 31.08.2008. It was stated that the petitioner institution is registered under the Rajasthan Societies Act and is recognized by the State Government. It was further stated that he was entitled to payment of gratuity under Section 16 of the Act of 1989 and Rule 82 of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Act of 1972’). It was stated in the application that the State Government had given the benefit of 6th Pay Commission under the Rajasthan Civil Services Revised Pay Scale Rules, 2008 (hereinafter referred to as the ‘Rules of 2008’). The applicant being an employee of a recognized institution is entitled for the pay fixation as per the Rules of 2008, but his school did not extend the said benefit to him.

2.1 Learned Tribunal after hearing both the parties vide its order dated 04.08.2022 partly allowed the application filed by the applicant and directed that the petitioner Managing Committee to make payment of gratuity pay fixation as on the date of superannuation i.e. 31.08.2008.

3. Likewise relevant facts of the connected CW No. 16579/2022 briefly are that Smt. Godawari Purohit (now deceased) was initially appointed on 28.11.1983 and was promoted to the post of Senior Teacher on 31.12.1991. On 14.10.1994 she was promoted to the post of Vice Principal and thereafter she was promoted as Principal vide order dated 27.08.1997. She superannuated on 01.05.2008. She also filed an application before the Tribunal stating that she was entitled for payment of gratuity. She sought directions to the petitioner Managing Committee for grant of gratuity.

3.1 Vide its order dated 18.08.2022 Tribunal partly allowed the application filed by the applicant. It directed the petitioner Managing Committee to make payment of gratuity pay fixation as on the date of superannuation i.e. 01.05.2008.

4. The defence taken on behalf of private respondents is that the Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Act, 2009 was specifically enacted by the Parliament to retrospectively amend the definition of Clause 2(e) ‘employee’ w.e.f. 03.04.1997. Intent was to rectify the error or lacuna identified by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgment rendered in the case of Ahmedabad Private Primary Teachers’ Association with objective to extend the benefit of gratuity to the Teachers of private education institutions. Furthermore, the constitutional validity of the Amendment Act has been upheld by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in its judgment dated 29.08.2022 rendered in Independent School’s Federation of India (Regd.) v. Union of India & Anr. 2002 SCC Online SC 1113.

5. In the aforesaid backdrop, I have heard the competing contentions of learned counsels. I shall now proceed to render my opinion on the same by recording reasons in the succeeding part of the order.

6. First and foremost, de hors the merits, pertinent it is to note here that the preliminary objection has been taken by learned counse