THE HON’BLE SRI JUSTICE NAGESH BHEEMAPAKA

WRIT PETITION No.3818 of 2019

ORDER:

The case of the petitioner, briefly as per the writ affidavit, is that the

2^nd respondent was an employee of the petitioner-MVSR Engineering College. She joined the service as ‘Steno-typist’ in 1981 and was later promoted as Superintendent and she retired from service in 2014. The petitioner paid her the gratuity amount of Rs.4,67,013. It is the case of the petitioner that Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 was amended in the year 1997, wherein it was clarified that teaching staff would not fall within the ambit of the definition of ‘employee’, and the petitioner-college is covered under the said amendment and therefore the 2^nd respondent is not entitled to gratuity for the period 1981 to 1996. It is the further case of the petitioner that a batch of writ petitions challenging the amendment is pending before the Hon’ble Division Bench of this Court in W.P.No.25764 of 2014 and batch, and this writ petition is similar to those writ petitions. It is the grievance of the petitioner that the 2^nd respondent-employee has moved an application before the 1^st respondent-Authority under the Payment of Gratuity Act, and the