Bombay HC Orders Zilla Parishad To Pay 18.33 Lakh Gratuity To Retired Employee, Cites Gratuity Act Supremacy Over State Rules

Mumbai: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has actually disregarded an application submitted by the Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Parishad, Amravati, testing the gratuity granted to a retired staff member, ruling that the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, bypasses contrasting solution policies of the state.

Justice MS Jawalkar promoted the order of the Controlling Authority, which had actually guided the Zilla Parishad to pay Rs18.33 lakh in addition to 10% yearly passion to participant Gulabrao Nawale, that relinquished solution on January 31, 2020.

The Zilla Parishad had actually competed that Nawale was not qualified to gratuity under the Gratuity Act, as his retired life advantages were regulated by the Maharashtra Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1982. It mentioned a 2019 federal government resolution topping gratuity at Rs14 lakh and said that gratuity might be kept under Rule 130 as a result of pending judicial and department process versus him.

However, Justice Jawalkar kept in mind that unless there was a details exception under Section 5 of the Gratuity Act, the Act would certainly dominate. “The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any enactment other than this Act,” the court claimed.

The Court observed that the department query versus Nawale had actually wrapped up in 2014 with a penalty of changing him to his initial pay range. Although the penalty is under difficulty in the Industrial Court, there was no discontinuation or act necessitating loss of gratuity under Section 4( 6) of the Gratuity Act.

“There is no case of damage, loss, or destruction of property due to wilful omission or negligence, nor is there any act involving moral turpitude committed during service. Hence, there is no reason to withhold gratuity,” the Court claimed.

The Court likewise turned down the dental appeal by the Zilla Parishad’s guidance to limit Nawale from taking out the quantity for 8 weeks, mentioning a comparable instance pending prior to theSupreme Court The application was disregarded with an instructions to launch the transferred total up to Nawale in addition to passion.