EXECUTIVE ENGINEER, BRR VAMSADHARA PROJECT Vs. JOGI RAMULU

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Heard learned Government Pleader for Services-III for the petitioners and Sri V. Sudhakar Reddy, learned counsel for the 1st respondent. The respondents 2 and 3 are the authorities who have passed the orders under challenge.

(2.) Learned Government Pleader for the petitioners submits that the 1st respondent herein was initially appointed as Nominal Muster Roll (NMR) Man Mazdoor in the year 1972. He worked up to June, 1984 and thereafter his services were terminated against which he approached the Industrial Tribunal-cum-Labour Court, Visakhapatnam in I.D.No.51 of 1991 in which the award dtd. 25/9/1996 was passed directing the petitioners herein to reinstate the first respondent into duty within two months. Challenging the said award, the petitioners filed the Writ Petition No.13371 of 1997 which was dismissed on 14/7/2003. Thereafter, the first respondent was reinstated into duty. Again his services were terminated on 5/1/2005. Challenging the said action, the 1st respondent filed Writ Petition No.1498 of 2005 which was disposed of vide judgment dtd. 31/3/2010 directing the petitioners herein to consider him for regularization. Alleging disobedience of the order dtd. 31/3/2010, the 1st respondent filed C.C.No.1373 of 2011 in which the petitioners have filed their response. The first respondent retired on 31/1/2015 on attaining the age of superannuation.

(3.) After his retirement, the first respondent filed P.G.No.1 of 2015 before the Assistant Commissioner of Labour, Srikakulam under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 (for short, "the Act 1972") for payment of gratuity of Rs.2,05,962.00 in which the petitioners filed their written statement inter alia stating that the 1st respondent was not entitled for payment of any gratuity. However, the Assistant Commissioner of Labour, Srikakulam-3rd respondent passed the award dtd. 20/8/2017 directing the first petitioner herein to pay an amount of Rs.2,05,962.00 to the 1st respondent together with interest at the rate of 12% per annum from the date of retirement. The award was challenged by the petitioners in P.G.F.A.No.1 of 2019 which was dismissed by the appellate authority under the Act, 1972 and the Deputy Commissioner of Labour (FAC), Srikakulam-2nd respondent, vide order dtd. 1/6/2020.