B.JAYAKRISHNAN Vs. STEEL INDUSTRIALS KERALA LIMITED

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioners in these cases are stated to be retirees from the Steel Industrials Kerala Limited (SILK), which is a wholly owned Government of Kerala enterprise. According to them, even though they have all retired as early as in the year 2014 and 2015, none of them have been paid their statutory retirement benefits until now, though some portions have been disbursed to them, in bits and pieces. They, therefore, pray that the SILK be directed to pay them the full amounts, within a time frame to be fixed by this Court.

(2.) In response to the submissions of Sri. Parthasarathy, the learned counsel for the petitioners in both these cases, Smt. Latha Anand - the learned Standing Counsel for the SILK, submitted that the sole reason for the delay in disbursement of the benefits of the petitioners is because, her client is in extreme financial crisis and that steps have been now taken to ensure that enough resources are created so as to honour all the commitments faced by them. Smt. Latha Anand submitted that a proposal has also been made, which has transmuted itself into a scheme, as per which, DCRG will be disbursed to all persons who have retired upto the year 2020 at the rate of 10% every month, thus ensuring that all of them get their DCRG within the next ten months. She, added to this by saying that this payment has already begun and that the entire DCRG will be, therefore, honoured within the next few months.

(3.) As far as the other retirement benefits of the petitioners are concerned, Smt. Latha Anand submitted that they will also be paid in the same manner, at the rate of 10% per month, from July, 2021. She prayed that this Court allow the SILK to do so and submitted that if it is not so, then the Company will have to be shut down.