The prayer in this writ petition is for issuance of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records relating to the impugned order passed by the 1st respondent in P.G.A.No.30/2012, dated 19.12.2014 and quash the same.
2.According to the petitioner, 2nd respondent/the workman joined the services of the petitioner federation in 1977 and attained the age of superannuation on 30.06.2002 and has completed 24 years and 9 months of service. The workman filed gratuity application in P.G.No.111/2005 claiming gratuity before the Controlling Authority namely, the Assistant Commissioner of Labour, Tirunelveli, wherein, he has stated that he has rendered 43 years of service. Based on the application filed by the applicant/workman, the authority has rendered a finding and computed the gratuity amount at Rs.49,218/-. The contention of the writ petitioner herein is that the 2nd respondent/workman could not have completed 43 years of service, as he could not have been appointed in the petitioner federation at the age of 15 years. Initially, ex parte order was passed in the gratuity application. Aggrieved by the said order for the reasons best known to the petitioner Management, they have approached the Civil Court by filing a Civil Miscellaneous Appeal No.19/2010 and thereafter, approached the appellate authority after the above CMA was returned by the Principal District Judge, Thoothukudi.
3.Admittedly, there is a delay of 375 days in filing the gratuity appeal. For the sake of convenience,
Section 7(7) of the Payment of Gratuity Act, is extracted below:-
''Any person aggrieved by an order under sub-section (4) may, within sixty days from the date of receipt of the order prefer an appeal to the appropriate Government or such other authority as may be specified by the appropriate Government in this behalf.
Provided that the appropriate Government or the appellate authority as the case may be, may if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from preferring the appeal within the said period of sixty days extend the said period by the further period of sixty days.''
4.As per the aforesaid provision, the gratuity appeal has got to be filed within a period of 60 days and if there is a delay and sufficient cause is shown in not preferring the appeal within a period of 60 days, another period of 60 days is provided under the Act. If any appeal is filed within the maximum period of 120 days, the appellate authority is entitled to entertain the appeal. After the period of 120 days, the appellate authority has become functus officio and by the impugned order dated 19.12.2014, the appellate authority has rightly rejected the appeal on the ground that after the period of 120 days, the appellate authority has no jurisdiction to entertain the appeal, even though the same has been numbered as P.G.A.No.30/2012. The petitioner having missed the bus, cannot at a later point of time contend that the workman could not have been joined at the age of 15 which is a factual submission that cannot be entertained by this Court.
5.Hence, this Writ Petition is dismissed. The Controlling Authority is directed to disburse the entire amount lying in deposit together with accrued interest to the workman within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a copy of this order, if the said amount has not already been disbursed. No costs. Consequently, W.M.P(MD)No.482 of 2017 is closed.
To The Appellate Authority/The Joint Commissioner of Labour, (The Authority under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972), The Office of Joint Commissioner of Labour, Madurai.
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