COMMISSIONER AMBATTUR MUNICIPALITY Vs. R GANDHI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Petitioner in all the four writ petitions is the Ambattur Municipality represented by its Commissioner. The Petitioner Municipality in these four writ petitions challenges the order of 3rd Respondent Appellate Authority under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 dated 22.8.2007 in P.G.A. Nos. 7,6,4 and 5/2007 respectively confirming the order of the 4th Respondent Controlling Authority dated 20.11.2006 in P.G. Nos. 208,109,107 and 108 of 2005 respectively and seeks to set aside the same.

(2.) In these writ petitions, notice was ordered on 07.01.2008. Pending the notice, no interim order was granted. Subsequently, the writ petitions were admitted on 11.11.2010 and the applications for interim order were rejected on the same day.

(3.) While the first Respondent in all the writ petitions is served and appeared through counsel, it is the second Respondent who had filed a counter affidavit dated 22.07.2008 supporting the stand of the Petitioner Municipality. The first Respondent who are employees of the Municipality after their retirement were paid the pension and DCRG. Thereafter, they filed applications claiming gratuity. It was argued that since the Municipal Employees are governed by the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978 and they are government servants and they were also paid DCRG, they are not eligible for gratuity separately.