The State Of Tripura And Ors vs Dr. Prashant Kumar
2026 Latest Caselaw 79 Tri

Tripura High Court

The State Of Tripura And Ors vs Dr. Prashant Kumar on 19 January, 2026

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                       HIGH COURT OF TRIPURA
                         _A_G_A_R_T_A_L_A_
                           W.A.No.72 of 2024

1.The State of Tripura and Ors.,
to be represented by the Secretary,
Govt. of Tripura, Tribal Welfare Department,
New Secretariat Complex, Kunjaban, Agartala,
West Tripura, Pin-799006

2.Tribal Welfare Residential Education Institutions Society,
Under Tribal Welfare Department, Govt. of Tripura,
represented by its Member Secretary, Gurkhabasti,
Agartala, West Tripura, Pin-799006

3.The Member Secretary,
Tripura Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society,
Tribal Welfare Department, Govt. of Tripura,
represented by its Member Secretary, Gurkhabasti,
Agartala, West Tripura, Pin-799006

4.The Secretary,
Department of Finance, Govt. of Tripura,
New Secretariat Building, New Capital Complex,
Agartala, West Tripura, Pin- 799010
                                                               ..........Appellant(s)

                                 Versus
Dr. Prashant Kumar, Aged-61 years,
S/O- Lt. Krishan Lal Sharma,
C/O- Sri Sudhir Chandra Naha,
R/O-Datta Para, Jolaibari,
Sabroom, South Tripura, Pin-799141

                                                           ...... Respondent(s)
For Appellant(s)     : Mr. Dipankar Sarma, Addl. G.A.
For Respondent(s) : Mr. Purusuttam Roy Barman, Sr. Advocate.
                    Mr. Samarjit Bhattacharjee, Advocate.
                    Mr. Kawsik Nath, Advocate.
                    Ms. Sutapa Deb Barman, Advocate.

HON'BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. M.S. RAMACHANDRA RAO
         HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE BISWAJIT PALIT
                   Date of Hearing & Judgment : 19/01/2026

                        Whether fit for reporting : YES
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                      JUDGMENT & ORDER (ORAL)

(M.S. RAMACHANDRA RAO, C.J.)

This Writ Appeal is filed by the State of Tripura, The Tripura

Tribal Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society and others

challenging the judgment of the Learned Single Judge dt. 24.01.2024 in

WP(C)No.617 of 2023.

2. The respondent was an employee of the Tripura Tribal Welfare

Residential Educational Institutions Society which runs under the

administrative control of the Tribal Welfare Department of the Government

of Tripura. Its main objective is to establish, maintain, control and running

of Ekalavya Model Residential School (EMR), Residential School and

Ashram School in Tribal Sub-Plan area of the State of Tripura.

3. On 24.12.2002, the Chairman of the said Society appointed the

respondent to the post of Principal and the respondent had joined in the said

post on 04.01.2003.

4. The respondent attained the age of superannuation on

31.10.2022.

5. The respondent claimed that he was entitled to get full and final

payment of gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 within thirty

days in terms of Section 7(3) thereof.

6. However, on 04.01.2023 the appellants paid only Rs.3.5 lakhs

to the respondent as retirement gratuity.

7. The case of the respondent is that he had to his credit twenty

years of total qualifying service; at the time of retirement his last basic pay

was Rs.1,23,600/- and DA was Rs.9,888/-; and in terms of Section 4(2) of

the Payment of Gratuity Act, he is entitled to get Rs.15,40,246/- towards

gratuity.

8. The respondent submitted a representation on 11.01.2023

seeking full and final payment of gratuity. He stated therein that his gratuity

be calculated on the basis of enhanced ceiling limit of Rs.20,00,000/- which

came into force w.e.f. 29.03.2018. He also stated that he was accepting

Rs.3.5 lakhs paid to him under protest and that the said payment was also

not paid on time and so he is entitled to interest thereon @ Rs.9% p.a.

9. When no action was taken on the respondent's representation

by the appellants, he filed WP(C)No.617 of 2023.

10. He contended before the Learned Single Judge that the Payment

of Gratuity Act,1972 had been amended by the Act 15 of 2010 and the

words and figures "Rs.3,50,000/-" had been replaced by the words

"Rs.10,00,000/-" w.e.f. 24.05.2010, and subsequently by Act 12 of 2018

w.e.f. 29.03.2018 by SO No.1420(E) dt. 29.03.2018, the amount of gratuity

was raised to "Rs.20,00,000/-" He contended that he should be paid gratuity

taking into account the enhanced ceiling limit of Rs.20,00,000/- which came

into force w.e.f. 29.03.2018.

11. In the counter affidavit filed by the appellants before the

Learned Single Judge, they stated that the appellants and the respondent

were provided group gratuity scheme as per the then prevailing provisions

which permitted only Rs.3.50 lakhs as gratuity and therefore, he is not

entitled to anything more. It was however admitted that the Society receives

100% grant by way of recurring grant from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs,

Government of India to run Ekalavya Model Residential Schools and 100%

grants under the Grants Ashram School under State Budget to run the

Ashram and Residential Schools.

12. It was also stated that the Society is governed by the relevant

Rules of the State Government. It is stated that in a meeting held on

05.09.2009, the Board of Governors of the Society had unanimously

approved Rs.5,74,016/- only for implementation of Group Gratuity Scheme

(GGS) to its employees @ Rs.3,50,000/- only on attaining the age of

superannuation; and thereafter, it had accorded approval for introduction of

Group Gratuity Scheme (GGS) through incorporation (sic) of Life Insurance

Corporation of India (LIC).

13. The Learned Single Judge rejected the stand of the appellants

and held that there was a conscious decision on the part of the Board of

Governors to make applicable the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 to its

employees in the meeting held on 05.09.2009. He held that under Section

4(3) of the Act, the amount of gratuity payable to an employee shall not

exceed such amount as may be notified by the Central Government from

time to time, and in the year 2018, the limit had been enhanced to

Rs.20,00,000/-. He held that the calculation of gratuity to a retired employee

has to be made on the basis of the limit prescribed by the Central

Government from time to time. He also placed reliance on the judgment of

another Learned Single Judge of this Court in WP(C)No.1054 of 2019 in Sri

Bhupati Debnath versus The State of Tripura and Ors. wherein the

Learned Single Judge had held that the revised ceiling of Rs.20,00,000/- will

apply w.e.f. 29.03.2018 to all establishments irrespective of whether they are

controlled or governed by the State or the Central Government as the

appropriate Government. He therefore directed payment of Gratuity to the

respondent in accordance with the provisions of the Act treating the

maximum ceiling of gratuity to be Rs.20,00,000/- as notified by the Central

Government vide notification dt. 29.03.2018 and also directed payment of

interest upon rest of the amount of gratuity @ 7% p.a.

14. Challenging the same, this appeal is filed.

15. Counsel for the appellant relied on Section 4(A) of the Payment

of Gratuity Act, 1972 which permitted an employer other than an employer

or an establishment belonging to, or under the control of, the Central

Government or the State Government to obtain an insurance from the Life

Insurance Corporation of India to meet liability for payment towards the

gratuity to its employees under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.

16. Counsel for the appellants contends that it was therefore

decided in the 6th meeting of the Board of Governors of the Society that

there would be a group gratuity scheme for which an amount of Rs.5,74,016

is required including past and present service liability up to 2008-09. He also

stated that subsequently there was a decision taken to take a group gratuity

insurance policy from the Life Insurance Corporation of India, though the

said fact was not placed before the Learned Single Judge and the said policy

had now been placed on record in this appeal as an additional document.

Annexure-5 of these additional documents is a master policy issued by the

Life Insurance Corporation of India to the Society promising to pay

Rs.65,83,865/- for the 464 members towards provision of gratuity and life

cover benefit. He contends that therefore, there is no liability to pay more

than Rs.3.5 lakhs towards gratuity.

                (BISWAJIT PALIT, J)                        (M.S. RAMACHANDRA RAO, CJ)




SABYASACHI Digitally
           SABYASACHI
                     signed by

BHATTACHA BHATTACHARJEE
           Date: 2026.01.22
RJEE       12:19:26 +05'30'
 Sabyasachi B