Statutory interest at 10% per annum is payable on delayed gratuity payments under Section 7(3-A) of the Payment of Gratuity Act.

IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE SUSHRUT ARVIND DHARMADHIKARI &

THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE P. V. BALAKRISHNAN THURSDAY, THE 11 TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2025 / 20TH AGRAHAYANA, 1947 WA NO. 2955 OF 2025 AGAINST THE JUDGMENT DATED 17.10.2025 IN WP(C) NO.37070 OF 2025 OF HIGH COURT OF KERALA APPELLANT/S:

USHA C, AGED 62 YEARS D/O. K RAMAN NAIR, RESIDING AT FLAT NO.8A1, SANJEEVANI APARTMENTS, NEAR TRIDA COMPLEX, GOVT. MEDICAL COLLEGE, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN - 695011 BY ADVS.

SHRI.EALIAS K. ABRAHAM SMT.JULEETHA K.A.

RESPONDENT/S:

1 ITI LIMITED REGISTERED AND CORPORATE OFFICE ITI BHAVAN, DOORVANI NAGAR, BANGALORE REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGING DIRECTOR, PIN - 560016

2 THE CHAIRMAN AND MANAGING DIRECTOR ITI LTD., DOORVANI NAGAR, BANGALORE, PIN - 560016

3 ITI LIMITED PALAKKAD UNIT, KANJIKODE WEST PALAKKAD REPRESENTED BY ITS GENERAL MANAGER, PIN - 678623

4 ADDL.GENERAL MANAGER AND PLANT HEAD ITI LTD BANGALORE UNIT, DOORVANI NAGAR BANGALORE, PIN - 560016 THIS WRIT APPEAL HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 11.12.2025, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:

JUDGMENT Sushrut Arvind Dharmadhikari, J The present intra-court appeal under Section 5 of the Kerala High Court Act, 1958, assails the judgment dated 17.10.2025 passed in W.P.(C) No. 37070 of 2025, whereby the writ petition filed by the appellant was disposed of and the claim with regard to payment of interest on the delayed payment was left open.

2. The appellant herein had filed the writ petition seeking the following reliefs:

“i. To issue a Writ of mandamus and command the respondents 1 to 3 to disburse the Gratuity amount with interest at 10% p.a from the date it became due till the date of payment, to the Petitioner within a time limit to be fixed by this Hon'ble Court;

ii. To issue a Writ of mandamus and command the respondents 1 to 3 to disburse the Privilege Leave Encashment due to the petitioner along with interest at 12% p.a from the date it became due till the date of payment, within a time limit to be fixed by this Hon'ble Court;

iii. To pass any other orders as this Hon'ble Court deems fit to pass in the nature and circumstances of the case; and iv. To award the costs of these proceedings.”

3. The brief facts of the case are that the appellant was in the service of the first respondent Company, who retired from service on attaining the age of superannuation on 31.05.2023. The appellant had put in more than 35 years of service with the first respondent. Initially, the appellant joined the Company on 16.02.1987. Thereafter, she served in the ITI, Palakkad Unit from 1988 to 2021 in different capacities and retired as Additional General Manager (Planning), ITI Bangalore Unit. Since the appellant was not granted the benefit of gratuity and privilege leave encashment, standing to her credit at the time of retirement, she had approached this Court in the Writ Petition, seeking the aforementioned reliefs.

3.1 The learned Single Judge disposed of the writ petition with the direction to the respondents to disburse the benefits due to the appellant, within a period of eight months from the date of the judgment. However, the issue with regard to interest on delayed payment was left open.

4. The learned Counsel for the appellant contended that so far as leaving the question with regard to payment of interest open is concerned, the learned Single Judge ought to have granted statutory interest in the light of the provisions contained in Section 7 (3-A) of the Payment of Gratuity Act 1972 (for short, ‘the Act’). (3) of the Act is reproduced below:

“(3) The employer shall arrange to pay the amount of gratuity, within thirty days from the date it becomes payable to the person to whom the gratuity is payable.

(3-A) If the amount of gratuity payable under sub-section