M MADHUSOODHANAN SECRETARY (RETD) ALAPPURZHA GOVERNMENT SERVANTCO-OPERATIVE BANK LTD Vs. ALAPPUZHA GOVERNMENT SERVANT CO-OPERATIVE BANK LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The 1st petitioner retired from service while working as Secretary of the 1st respondent Co-operative Bank, on 31.05.2017, on attaining the age of superannuation, after rendering a total service of 32 years. Similarly, the 2nd petitioner retired from service on 31.05.2017, while working as Assistant Secretary, after rendering a total service of 34 years. At the time of retirement, the petitioners were disbursed with a sum of Rs. 10,00,000/- each towards gratuity. The grievance of the petitioners 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 the 1st petitioner comes to Rs. 18,05,760/- and the 2nd petitioner comes to Rs. 16,99,300/-. Though the said amount has already been transferred by the Life Insurance Corporation to the 1st respondent Bank, as evident from Exts.P5 and P6 certificates dated 04.04.2018, the 1st respondent Bank decided to pay the petitioners only a sum of Rs. 10 lakhs each as gratuity, for the time being, in the light of Circular No.5/2016 issued by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies.

(2.) Heard the learned counsel for the petitioners, the learned counsel for the 1st respondent Bank, the learned Government Pleader appearing for respondents 2 and 3 and also the learned Standing Counsel for the 4th respondent Life Insurance Corporation of India.

(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;