Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Upanath Pandit vs The Durgapur Projects Limited & ... on 8 March, 2022
63
08.03.2022
Ct. No.23
pg.
IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION
APPELLATE SIDE
WPA 3856 of 2022
Upanath Pandit
Vs.
The Durgapur Projects Limited & Ors.
Mr. Siddhartha Sarkar
... For the petitioner
Mr. Sujit Sankar Koley
... For the respondents
Affidavit of service filed in Court today is taken on
record.
Leave is granted to the advocate for the petitioner
to correct the inadvertent typographical error in the name
of the petitioner in the Presentation Form and the cause
title of the writ petition.
The Registry/Department is directed to take note of
the correction in the records and in the register.
The petitioner was an employee in Durgapur
Projects Limited (in short "DPL"), the respondent no.1. The
petitioner retired from service on 31st October, 2020. The
petitioner on his retirement was entitled to payment of
gratuity of Rs.6,62,740/-. This figure is not in dispute. The
petitioner was paid this amount on 12th May, 2021
towards gratuity. The date of payment is also not in
dispute. The petitioner says that there has been a delay of
about 6 months in making of the said sum of
Rs.6,62,740/- 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 12th April,
2021 issued by DPL (appearing at page 12 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 leave salary
equivalent to 300 days Earned Leave calculated on the
basis of his salary 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.6,62,740/- being the amount on account of gratuity
calculated on and from 1st November, 2020 till 12th May,
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 November, 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
November, 2020 till 12th May, 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.)
