AIDEM VENTURES PVT. LTD Vs. DARSHAN PITALE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) These petitions are filed by the same petitioner-Company against ex-employees. The petition arises out of concurrent orders passed by the Controlling Authority (Labour Court) and Appellate Authority (Industrial Court), under the provisions of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 (Gratuity Act). Both the authorities have concurrently held that the petitioner-Company was not justified in forfeiting gratuity payable to the respondents, by taking recourse to Sec. 4(6)(b)(ii) of the Gratuity Act and accordingly, while allowing the applications of the respondents, a direction has been issued to the petitioner-Company to pay the gratuity with simple interest at the rate of 10% per annum, till payment of such amounts.

(2.) Mr. Anand Pai, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioner-Company in both these petitions, submitted that the concurrent orders passed by the two authorities below, deserve interference, for the reason that the acts of the respondents, as alleged by the petitioner-Company, amounted to acts of moral turpitude and hence, the petitioner-Company was justified in forfeiting the gratuity by taking recourse to Sec. 4(6)(b)(ii) of the Gratuity Act. Attention of this Court was invited to Sec. 4(1) of the Gratuity Act, to submit that termination of employment under the said provision, is contemplated in various situations, including superannuation, retirement or resignation, death or disablement due to accident or disease. It was emphasized that since in the present case, both the respondents had resigned from their employment with the petitioner-Company, that in itself would not come in the way of the petitioner-Company exercising power under Sec. 4(6)(b)(ii) of the Gratuity Act, which refers to termination of service of an employee.

(3.) It was further submitted that in the present case, it is undisputed that there was a non-disclosure policy contained in the employees handbook, which applied to the respondents and it mandated that the employees would not disclose trade secrets or confidential business information of the petitioner-Company. Any violation of the said stipulation would invite disciplinary action, including termination of employment.