Ananda Goswami @ Anando Goswami vs The Durgapur Projects Limited & ...
2022 Latest Caselaw 3983 Cal

     18
05.07.2022
 Ct. No.23
     pg.
                       IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
                      CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION
                               APPELLATE SIDE

                                WPA 11871 of 2022

                       Ananda Goswami @ Anando Goswami
                                      Vs.
                       The Durgapur Projects Limited & Ors.

                     Mr. Siddhartha Sarkar
                                ... For the petitioner
                     Mr. Sujit Sankar Koley
                                 ... For the respondents

The petitioner was an employee in Durgapur

Projects Limited (in short "DPL"), the respondent no.1. The

petitioner retired from service on 31st December, 2019. The

petitioner on his retirement was entitled to payment of

gratuity of Rs.12,70,708/-. This figure is not in dispute.

The petitioner was paid this amount on 8th March, 2021

towards gratuity. The date of payment is also not in

dispute. The petitioner says that there has been a delay of

about 14 months in making of the said sum of

Rs.12,70,708/- on account of gratuity. The petitioner

further says that he has not been paid the amount due on

account of leave salary. The petitioner, therefor, is entitled

to interest for delayed payment of gratuity as per the

provisions of Section 7(3A) of the Payment of Gratuity Act,

1972 (hereinafter referred to as the "said Act") since the

same is part of the retiral benefits.

It further appears from a memo dated 23rd

December, 2020 issued by DPL (appearing at page 13 of

the writ petition) that the petitioner is entitled to payment

of salary equivalent to 300 days Earned Leave lying in his

credit on the date of retirement. DPL is liable to pay the

said payment of salary equivalent to 300 days Earned

Leave to the petitioner as such sum has not yet been paid

with interest from the date of retirement till actual

payment since there is no dispute in this regard.

The issues involved in the instant writ petition are

squarely covered by a recent judgment and order of this

Court dated 9th August, 2021 passed in WPA 11485 of

2021 (Kajal Pal v. The Durgapur Projects Ltd. & Ors.). The

consensus between the parties as was in case of Kajal Pal

(supra) is also there in the instant case.

As such, this writ petition is disposed of on the

similar lines as in Kajal Pal (supra), which are as follows:-

The respondent no.1 is directed to pay interest to

the writ petitioner at the rate of 6 per cent per annum on

Rs.12,70,708/- being the amount on account of gratuity

calculated on and from 1st January, 2020 till 8th March,

2021, a sum equivalent to salary for 300 days calculated

on the basis of his last drawn salary with interest @ 6 per

cent per annum from 1st January, 2020 till actual

payment, within a period of six months from the date of

communication of a photostat certified copy of this order

and in default statutory rate of 10 per cent as in case of

gratuity will be attracted on the entire amount from 1st

January, 2020 till 8th March, 2021.

Nothing further remains to be adjudicated in this

writ petition.

Since I have not called for any affidavits,

allegations made in the writ petition are deemed to have

not been admitted by the respondents.

Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if

applied for, be given to the parties, upon compliance of

necessary formalities.

(Arindam Mukherjee, J.)