Court No. - 59
Case :- WRIT - C No. - 17577 of 2003 Petitioner :- U.P.S.R.T.C. Thru Regional Manager Respondent :- Ishwar Chandra Sharma And Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Samir Sharma Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.
Hon'ble Manoj Kumar Gupta,J.
Heard Sri S.K. Mishra, counsel for the petitioner.
The instant petition is directed against the order dated 20.6.2001 passed by Deputy Labour Commissioner in P.G. Case No. 01 of 2000 under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. By the said order, the arrears of gratuity payable to the respondent- employees has been directed to be paid alongwith simple interest at the rate of 10% per annum till the date of actual payment. The petitioner has also challenged the order dated 18.11.2002 passed by the Appellate authority dismissing the appeal.
Learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the gratuity payable under the impugned orders stood paid to the respondent-employee and now the only surviving dispute is with regard to payment of interest. It is urged that the financial condition of the Corporation is not good, therefore, interest should not have been awarded.
Sections 7 (3) and (3-A) of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 read thus:-
"7. Determination of the amount of gratuity.-
[(3) The employer shall arrange to pay the amount of gratuity within thirty days from the date it becomes payable to the person to whom the gratuity is payable.
(3A) If the amount of gratuity payable under sub-section (3) is not paid by the employer within the period specified in sub- section (3), the employer shall pay, from the date on which the gratuity becomes payable to the date on which it is paid, simple interest at such rate, not exceeding the rate notified by the Central Government from time to time for repayment of long- term deposits, as that Government may, by notification specify:
Provided that no such interest shall be payable if the delay in the payment is due to the fault of the employee and the employer has obtained permission in writing from the controlling authority for the delayed payment on this ground.]"
It is not the case of the petitioner that the delay in payment of gratuity is attributable to the employee. Payment of interest is the statutory liability of the employer under the Act. It cannot be avoided on the ground that the financial condition is not good. Thus, this Court finds no force in the submission of learned counsel for the petitioner.
No other submission has been made.
The petition lacks merit and is dismissed.
(Manoj Kumar Gupta, J.) Order Date :- 19.12.2019 Jaideep/-