MIHIR KUMAR DAS Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The appellants herein are four of the nine Writ petitioners who were employees under the Kalyani Spinning Mill (A Govt. of West Bengal Undertaking) at Kalyani, District Nadia. This intra-court appeal has been preferred against the Judgment and Order dtd. 8/6/2018 passed by the Hon'ble Single Bench in Writ Petition no. 5198(W) of 2018 whereby the prayer of the petitioners for issuance of a writ mandamus upon the respondents, directing payment of interest on delayed payment of gratuity was rejected.

(2.) Being aggrieved with the impugned judgment, the petitioners have preferred this appeal on grounds, inter alia, that the judgment and order passed by Hon'ble Single Bench is bad in law, without reasons and the Hon'ble Single Bench has not considered the violation of the statutory provisions under which simple interest is payable by the employer on his failure to pay gratuity within the stipulated period. It is further urged that the Hon'ble Single Bench while disposing of the writ application failed to consider that the existence of an alternative remedy is not a bar to invoking the Writ Jurisdiction of this Court when the legal rights of the appellant/petitioner have been infringed by the statutory authority. It is asserted by learned advocate for the appellants that in an identical situation, the Hon'ble Division Bench has given relief by directing the respondent authorities to pay interest. Therefore, the Hon'ble Single Bench should have granted the relief to the petitioners in the light of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, which clearly lays down that if Gratuity is not paid to the retired employee within the stipulated period, the employer will have to pay simple interest on the Gratuity amount from the date of retirement till the date of actual payment.

(3.) Referring to a judgment dtd. 4/7/2017 passed by a Hon'ble Division Bench of this Court in MAT 1271-76, 1102, 1104-13, 1115-1127, 1267, 1270, 1289, 1291 of 2016, wherein under identical circumstances this Court allowed interest to the petitioners at the rate of 6% per annum on the Gratuity payable to the retired employees of the respondent, it is urged that the petitioners may be allowed interest at the rate of 10% per annum on Gratuity amounts paid to them from the date of their retirement till the date of payment.