VASANTHI Vs. KALPETTA SERVICE CO-OPERATIVE BANK LTD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner retired from service while working as Secretary of the 1st respondent Co-operative Bank on 28.02.2018, on attaining the age of superannuation, after rendering a total service of 34 years. At the time of retirement, the petitioner was disbursed with a sum of Rs. 19,57,576/- towards gratuity, which is evidenced by Ext.P3. The grievance of the petitioner in this writ petition is that, in terms of the policy taken by the 1st respondent Bank with the Life Insurance Corporation of India, the gratuity amount payable to him comes to Rs. 19,57,576/-. Though the said amount has already been transferred by the Life Insurance Corporation to the 1st respondent Bank, as evident from Ext.P3 letter dated 04.05.2018, the 1st respondent Bank vide Resolution No.5 dated 09.05.2018, decided to pay the petitioner only a sum of Rs. 10 lakhs as the gratuity, for the time being, in the light of Circular No.5/2016 issued by the Registrar of Co-operative Societies and the said fact has also been endorsed in Ext.P3.

(2.) Heard the learned counsel for the petitioner and also the learned counsel for the respondent Bank representing respondents 1 and

(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 Cooperative Agricultural and Rural Development Bank Ltd. and others,2017 4 KerLT 276. Paragraphs 5 to 8 of the said decision read thus;