Statutory interest on delayed gratuity payments is mandated under the Payment of Gratuity Act, regardless of the circumstances of payment, ensuring employees are compensated for delays accordingly.

JUDGMENT :

Rai Chattopadhyay, J.

1. The impugned judgment is dated June 23, 2025 passed by the writ Court simultaneously in various writ petitions, which is under challenge in the intra Court appeals, as noted above.

2. The lis is related to the disputed question of applicability of interest on gratuity paid to the respondents. All the appeals as mentioned above involve the same issue, hence were taken up together for hearing analogously and are being disposed of by dint of the instant common judgment.

3. It is necessary that the factual background of the cases may be stated in a nutshell. The private respondents in the respective appeals have been engaged with the appellant/Food Corporation of India, as contractual employees through Handling and Transport contractors, at the various food storage depots. They are commonly known as Contract Casual Labourers (CCLs).

4. A Single Bench of this court in order dated June 23, 1998 in WP No. 1491 of 1997 ( Shyamal Kumar Chatterjee and Others Vs. Food Corporation of India and Others ) directed the FCI authorities to pay wages to the writ petitioners including arrears, at par with the wages of the Class IV Staff of the FCI.

5. On September 28, 2000, the Supreme Court directed in Civil Appeals No. 6064 - 6065 of 1998 , that the rate of wages payable to such employees will be 1/26th of the monthly wages of the Class IV employees, without going into or adjudicating on any other right of the said contractual labourers engaged in FCI food storage depots.

6. In 2010, vide order dated January 14, 2010 in Civil Appeal No. 9472 - 9473 of 2003 , the Hon’ble Supreme Court, while adjudicating the grievance of the applicants before it, on a situation when the contractor was not paying wages regularly to the contractual employees, gave direction about payment of wages to such contractual employees directly by the said principal employer/Food Corporation of India, without any involvement of the contractors.

7. Since thereafter, the appellant/Food Corporation of India has been directly paying remuneration to the contract labourers as per direction of the Hon’ble Supreme Court and without absorbing them in its own roll.

8. The CCLs were retired after reaching the age of superannuation respectively. On September 19, 2019, the said CCLs including the respondents in the present appeals, applied before the Controlling Authority under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 claiming gratuity. The Controlling Authority, by dint of its order dated January 19, 2022 directed the appellant/Food Corporation of India to pay gratuity to the CCLs but declined to pass any order directing for payment of interest on gratuity, on the appellant Corporation, for delay in payment.

9. The FCI preferred an appeal against such order of the Controlling Authority. The Appellate Authority has decided by affirming the order of the Controlling Authority as above, vide its order dated December 27, 2022.

10. In a writ petition filed by the FCI being WPA No. 6387 of 2023, this Court vide order dated July 03, 2023 has confirmed both the orders of the Controlling Authority and the Appellate Authority under the Payment of Gratuity Act, as mentioned above.

11. Mr. Kamal Kr. Chattopadhyay, learned advocate for the appellant/FCI has submitted that the order of the High Court in WPA No. 6387 of 2023 dated July 03, 2023 has culminat