T V PUSHKARAN ASSISTANT SECRETARY CHERTHALA GOVERNMENT SERVANTS CO-OPERATIVE BANK LTD Vs. CHERTHALA GOVERNMENT SERVANTS CO-OPERATIVE BANK LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner retired from service while working as Assistant Secretary in the 1st respondent Co-operative Bank, on 31.05.2017, on attaining the age of superannuation, after rendering a total service of 36 years. At the time of retirement, the petitioner was disbursed with a sum of Rs. 10,00,000/- towards gratuity. The grievance of the petitioner in this writ petition is that, in terms of the policy taken by the 1st respondent Bank with the 4th respondent Life Insurance Corporation of India, the gratuity amount payable to him comes to Rs. 20,76,902/- as evident from Exhibit-P1 communication dated 30.5.2017 issued by the 4 th respondent. Though the said amount has already been transferred by the Life Insurance Corporation to the 1st respondent Bank, the said respondent decided to pay the petitioner only a sum of Rs. 10,00,000/- as the gratuity, for the time being, in the light of Circular No.5/2016 issued by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies, as evident from Exhibit-P4 certificate dated 06.04.2018 issued by the 1st respondent Bank.

(2.) Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner, the learned counsel for the 1st respondent Bank, learned Senior Government Pleader appearing for respondents 2 and 3 and also the learned Standing Counsel for the 4th respondent.

(3.) The issue raised in this writ petition regarding the entitlement of the employees of the Co-operative Societies covered by the provisions under the Payment of Gratuity Act to receive better terms under Section 4(5) of the said Act is now settled by the decision of the Full Bench of this Court in Chandrasekharan Nair G. and others v. Kerala State Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Bank Ltd. and others,2017 4 KerLT 276. Paragraphs 5 to 8 of the said decision read thus;