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2024 Supreme(Online)(GUJ) 25298
HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT
HEMANT M. PRACHCHHAK, J
BIPIN MAFATLAL PATEL – Appellant
Versus
GUJARAT CANCER AND RESEARCH INSTITUTE – Respondent
R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 1946 of 2023
MR DG SHUKLA(1998), MR HARSHEEL D SHUKLA(6158), MR SUDHIR NANAVATI, SENIOR ADVOCATE WITH MR VANDAN K BAXI(5863), NANAVATI & NANAVATI(1933)
An employee is entitled to gratuity and interest on delayed payment, but the retirement date and applicable regulations determine the amount and timing of such payments.
Headnote:(A) Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 - Sections 4(3) and 7(3) - Petition under Article 226 & 227 challenging the Appellate Authority's order regarding gratuity payment - Petitioner entitled to Rs.20,00,000/- as gratuity but received only Rs.10,00,000/- - Controlling Authority directed payment of Rs.10,00,000/- with 10% interest from 01.09.2021 - Appellate Authority upheld the order without addressing the delay in payment from 01.05.2018 to 31.08.2021 - Court found no error in the Appellate Authority's decision. (Paras 2.1, 2.4, 6.2)
(B) Gratuity Payment - Entitlement to interest on delayed payment - Employee entitled to interest from the date gratuity becomes payable until actual payment - Delay not attributable to the employee. (Paras 6.1, 6.2)
Facts of the case:
The petitioner, a retired professor, claimed Rs.10,00,000/- as balance gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, after receiving Rs.10,00,000/- and interest for delayed payment. The Controlling Authority ordered payment with interest from 01.09.2021, which the petitioner contested.
Findings of Court:
The court found that the Appellate Authority did not err in rejecting the appeal and upheld the Controlling Authority's order.
Issues: The main issues were the entitlement to interest on delayed gratuity payment and the correct retirement date for calculating gratuity.
Ratio Decidendi: The court ruled that the petitioner was not entitled to the enhanced gratuity amount due to the applicable government resolution and upheld the Appellate Authority's decision.
Result: Petition dismissed.
ORAL ORDER
1. By way of present petition under Article 226 & 227 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has prayed for the following reliefs :
“(A) Your Lordships may be pleased to issue a writ of certiorari or a writ in the nature of certiorari or any other writ, order or direction quashing and setting aside the impugned Order dated 12.11.2022 passed by the Appellate Authority under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, Ahmedabad at Annexure-’A’ to this petition as being illegal, improper, perverse, unjust, without jurisdiction and without authority in law.
(B) Any other and further reliefs that may be deemed fit and proper in the interest of justice may also kindly be granted.”
2. The brief facts giving rise to the present petition are as under :
2.1 The petitioner herein was working with The Gujarat Cancer & Research Institute (M.P.Shah Cancer Hospital) afÏliated with B.J. Medical College, Ahmedabad - Respondent herein (hereinafter referred to as the 'Respondent Institute' for the sake of brevity) as Professor and Head of Anesthesia Department. The Petitioner employee had joined the services of Respondent Institute on 01.02.1984 and he retired from the services on attaining the age of superannuation w.e.f. 30.04.2018. The Petitioner Employee was lastly drawing Rs.1,91,250/- as salary per month which came to be enhanced after the implementation of 7 th Pay Commission benefits. The Petitioner Employee had continuously served for more than 34 years with the Respondent Institute. The Petitioner Employee was entitled for Rs.20,00,000/- as Gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 but the Respondent Institute paid only Rs. 10,00,000/- as Gratuity and therefore, he submitted several representations for getting balance amount of Rs. 10,00,000/- alongwith 10% interest to the Respondent Institute, however, the Respondent Institute did not pay the balance amount of Gratuity amounting to Rs.10,00,000/- alongwith 10% interest. The Petitioner Employee, therefore, submitted Application for getting balance amount of Gratuity alongwith interest in Form-I under the provisions of the Act and Rules dated 12.08.2021. The Respondent Institute neither made the payment nor gave any reply, hence, the Petitioner Employee submitted Form-N dated 31.08.2021/01.09.2021 to the Controlling Authority under the Act for getting the balance amount of Gratuity of Rs.10,00,000/- alongwith 10% simple interest being Gratuity Application No.357 of 2021. The Respondent Institute submitted its reply dated 14.09.2021 before the Controlling Authority and submitted that after the grant was received from the State of Gujarat for making the payment of arrears of 7 th Pay Commission benefits, the balance amount of Gratuity would be paid alongwith other submissions. The Respondent Institute had further submitted reply dated 25.10.2021,15.11.2021, 29.11.2021 and 13.12.2021 reiterating that the balance payment of Gratuity amounting to Rs. 10,00,000/- would be paid after the grant is received from the State Government.
2.2 It is the case of the petitioner that the Petitioner Employee had submitted his reply before the Controlling Authority dated 11.10.2021 and submitted that the balance amount of Gratuity Rs. 10,00,000/- should be paid within 30 days from the date of retirement, however, as the said amount was not paid within 30 days, the Petitioner Employee was entitled for 10% interest also w.e.f. 01.05.2018. It was also submitted that the Petitioner Employee was entitled for Gratuity on the basis of his last drawn salary Rs.2,00,600/-. The Controlling Authority vide Order dated 31.01.2022 partly allowed the Gratuity Application No.357 of 2021 and directed the Respondent Institute to pay Rs.10,00,000/- as arrears of Gratuity with 10% simple interest w.e.f. 01.09.2021 till the payment is made within 30 days of the said order. The Controlling Authority had held that Petitioner had worked upto 30.04.2018 and on attaining the age of superannuation, he retired from the servi
