MUNICIPAL COMMITTEE Vs. A NATHI RAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) WHETHER Municipal Committee/council falls within the ambit of Section 1 (3) (b) of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 (hereinafter referred to as 'the Act') is the only question which arises for adjudication in this Letters Patent Appeal.

(2.) ALTHOUGH the aforementioned question has already been answered by a Division Bench in Kundan Lal Narang v. State of Haryana and Ors. , (C. W. P. No. 427 of 1987 decided on August 25, 1987) in the affirmative, learned counsel for the appellant has challenged the correctness of that decision on the ground that the Bench which decided Kundan Lal Narang's case did not take into consideration the provisions of the Punjab Shops and Commercial Establishments Act, 1958 (hereinafter called as 'the Act of 1958' ). We have reconsidered the issue in the light of the submissions at the Bar and are convinced that the decision of Kundan Lal Narang's case does not require reconsideration.

(3.) THE learned Single Judge accepted the writ petition in view of the law laid down in Kundan Lal Narang's case (supra) and directed the appellant to pay gratuity to the writ petitioners except to those who had retired before the enforcement of the Act.