V.S. NITHIYANANDAM Vs. TAMIL NADU SMALL INDUSTRIES

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The Appellant, who was working as General Manager of the Respondent, attained the age of superannuation on 31.03.1996. However, as disciplinary proceedings had been initiated against the Appellant in charge memo dated 04.12.1999 and the Appellant was prosecuted in C.C. No. 23 of 1976 before the Special Court at Chennai at that time, the terminal benefits comprising of gratuity and earned leave had been withheld. Subsequently, he had been discharged by the Special Court by order dated 13.04.1998 in Crl. M.P. No. 65 of 1998 and the disciplinary proceedings against the Appellant was also dropped on 08.05.2001. As the terminal benefits of the Appellant had not been released to hi, even thereafter, the Appellant filed W.P. No. 14433 of 2007 in this Court. When that Writ Petition came up for hearing on 16.02.2012, the Learned Judge, recorded the submission in the Counter Affidavit filed by the Respondent that the aforesaid terminal benefits had been paid to him during the pendency of the Writ Petition and rejected the claim for interest in the light of the facts and circumstances averred by the Respondent and proceeded to dismissed the Writ Petition. Aggrieved by the denial of the interest on the aforesaid terminal benefits, the Appellant has preferred this intra-Court appeal.

(2.) We have heard Mr. K. Selvaraj, Learned Counsel appearing for the Appellant, Mr. Vijayamehanath, Learned Counsel appearing for the Respondent and perused the materials placed on record, apart from the pleadings of the parties.

(3.) The Hon'ble Supreme Court of India in H. Ganghanume Gowda vs. Karnataka Agro Industries Corporation Ltd., [(2003) 3 SCC 40] and Y.K. Singla vs. Punjab National Bank [(2013) 3 SCC 472] have reiterated the legal position from Section 7(3A) of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, that if the amount of gratuity payable to an employee within 30 days from the date of cessation of his employment is not paid, there is no discretion to the employer to deny interest which would have to be paid at such rate not exceeding the rate notified by the Central Government from time to time, and the only exception for the same would be:-