Prabhakaran P vs The Nilambur Co-Operative Urban ...
2023 Latest Caselaw 8802 Ker

                IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
                                PRESENT
                 THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE GOPINATH P.
     MONDAY, THE 14TH DAY OF AUGUST 2023 / 23RD SRAVANA, 1945
                        WP(C) NO. 22484 OF 2023
PETITIONER/S:

          PRABHAKARAN P, AGED 58 YEARS
          S/O RAMAN NAIR, SANTHWANAM, MANALODY, NILAMBUR(P.O),
          MALAPPURAM DISTRICT, PIN - 679329
          BY ADV K.M.SATHYANATHA MENON


RESPONDENT/S:

    1     THE NILAMBUR CO-OPERATIVE URBAN BANK LIMITED
          NO: F 1043, HEAD OFFICE NILAMBUR,
          MALAPPURAM DISTRICT, PIN - 679329 REPRESENTED BY ITS
          GENERAL MANAGER,
    2     THE LIFE INSURANCE CORPORATION OF INDIA
          KOZHIKODE DIVISION, KOZHIKODE,PIN - 673001
           REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGER,
    3     THE STATE OF KERALA
          REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY TO DEPARTMENT OF CO-
          OPERATION, SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM,
          PIN - 695001
          BY ADVS.
          RAMESH BABU T
          S.LAKSHMY
          C.K.SREEJITH(K/2048/1999)




          SMT.RESMI THOMAS(G.P.),
          SRI.S.EASWARAN (S.C)


     THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON
14.08.2023, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
 WP(C) NO. 22484 OF 2023                   2



                                    JUDGMENT

Petitioner is a retired employee of the 1 st respondent Bank.

The issue arising in this Case is whether the petitioner is

entitled to gratuity over and above the amount fixed as the

maximum amounts payable under the Payment of Gratuity Act.

2. Learned counsel appearing for the petitioner would

submit that in respect of the other employees of the very same

Society, this Court in Ext.P6 judgment, after following the

judgment of the Full Bench of this Court in Chandrasekharan

Nair V. Kerala State Co-operative Agricultural and Rural

Development Bank Ltd [2017 (4) KLT 276 (F.B.)], held as

follows:-

''2. Sri.Sathyanatha Menon - learned counsel for the petitioners, submitted that the action of the respondent - Bank in retaining amounts received from the LIC under the Group Gratuity Scheme is contrary to the judgment of a learned Full Bench of this Court in Chandrasekharan Nair G. & Others v. Kerala State Co-operative Agricultural and Rural Development Ltd. (2017 (4) KLT 276). He argued that, therefore, the 1st respondent is acting illegally in retaining the amounts further, particularly when they received the said amounts from LIC a few months ago.

3. The learned Standing Counsel for the 1st respondent Bank - Sri.T.Ramesh Babu, submitted that petitioners have been given the entitled gratuity as per the by-laws of the Society and the Payment of Gratuity Act, which stipulates an upper cap of Rs.20 lakhs. He submitted that, as regards rest of the amounts, the petitioners cannot seeks relief.

4. Sri.Thomas Mathew Nellimoottil - learned Standing Counsel for the LIC, affirmed that his client has paid the amounts mentioned by the petitioners in paragraph 5 of this writ petition to the respondent - Bank; and thus prayed that no further orders be issued against them.

5. When I consider the afore submissions, it is indubitable that the afore contentions of Sri.Sathyanatha Menon are worthy, especially since they are supported by Chandrasekharan Nair G. (supra). The law has now been well settled that whatever be the cap that the Payment of Gratuity Act may impose, when better benefits are available to the petitioners and conceded to by the respondent - Bank, which is manifest from the fact that they had entered into a Group Gratuity Scheme for a larger amount, same is fully entitled to them.

In the afore circumstances, following the afore judgments, I order this writ petition and direct the Bank to immediately release the amounts mentioned in paragraph 5 of this writ petition to each of the petitioners; and if this is done within a period of fifteen days from the date of receipt of a copy of this judgment, the petitioners be at liberty to invoke any other available remedy seeking interest thereon, for which purpose, all their contentions in that regard are left open.

If, on the contrary, the Bank does not release the amounts within the afore time frame, it will carry interest at the rate of 8% p.a. from the date on which it was received by them and until it is actually disbursed.

3. Heard the learned counsel appearing for the

respondent Bank and the the learned Standing Counsel

appearing for the Life Insurance Corporation of India also.

4. Having heard the learned counsel appearing for the

petitioner and the learned counsel appearing for the respondent

bank and the learned Standing Counsel appearing for the Life

Insurance Corporation of India and being in respectful

agreement with the view taken in Ext.P6 judgment, the writ

petition will stand disposed of, directing the 1 st respondent bank

to release the amounts payable to the petitioner in terms of the

amounts sanctioned by the Life Insurance Corporation of India,

for payment of gratuity, within a period fifteen days from the

date of receipt of a certified copy of this judgment. If the

amounts are not released within the time stipulated above, the

petitioner will be entitled to interest at the rate of 8% per

annum from today till the date of disbursement.

The writ petition is disposed of as above.

Sd/-

GOPINATH P.

JUDGE ajt

APPENDIX OF WP(C) 22484/2023

PETITIONER EXHIBITS Exhibit P1 A TRUE COPY OF THE CLAIM FORM FOR GROUP GRATUITY SCHEME SUBMITTED BY THE 1ST RESPONDENT TO THE 2ND RESPONDENT DATED NIL Exhibit P2 A TRUE COPY OF THE REPRESENTATION DATED 2.6.2023 SUBMITTED BY THE PETITIONER TO THE CHAIRMAN OF THE 1ST RESPONDENT REQUESTING TO PAY THE BALANCE AMOUNT OF GRATUITY RECEIVED FROM 2ND RESPONDENT Exhibit P3 A TRUE COPY OF THE COMMUNICATION NO:

NCUB/2023-24/GRAT.REJ/1 DATED 16/06/2023 ISSUED BY THE 1ST RESPONDENT TO THE PETITIONER Exhibit P4 A TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT IN W.A. NO.524 OF 2018 AND CONNECTED CASES DATED 12.07.2018 OF THIS HONBLE COURT Exhibit P5 A TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT IN WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 23983 OF 2018 DATED 2.08.2018 OF THIS HONBLE COURT Exhibit P6 A TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT DATED 21.07.2022 IN W.P. [C] NO.22007/2022 OF THIS HONBLE COURT.