Mumbai: The Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has dismissed a petition filed by the Chief Executive Officer of Zilla Parishad, Amravati, challenging the gratuity awarded to a retired employee, ruling that the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, overrides conflicting service rules of the state.
Justice MS Jawalkar upheld the order of the Controlling Authority, which had directed the Zilla Parishad to pay Rs18.33 lakh along with 10% annual interest to respondent Gulabrao Nawale, who retired from service on January 31, 2020.
The Zilla Parishad had contended that Nawale was not entitled to gratuity under the Gratuity Act, as his retirement benefits were governed by the Maharashtra Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1982. It cited a 2019 government resolution capping gratuity at Rs14 lakh and argued that gratuity could be withheld under Rule 130 due to pending judicial and departmental proceedings against him.
However, Justice Jawalkar noted that unless there was a specific exemption under Section 5 of the Gratuity Act, the Act would prevail. “The provisions of this Act shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any enactment other than this Act,” the judge said.
The Court observed that the departmental inquiry against Nawale had concluded in 2014 with a punishment of reverting him to his original pay scale. Although the punishment is under challenge in the Industrial Court, there was no termination or act warranting forfeiture 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 said.
The Court also rejected the oral plea by the Zilla Parishad’s counsel to restrain Nawale from withdrawing the amount for eight weeks, citing a similar case pending before the Supreme Court. The petition was dismissed with a direction to release the deposited amount to Nawale along with interest.
