AIR 2003 SUPREME COURT 1526 ::2003 AIR SCW 885 ::2003 LAB. I. C. 1192 ::2003 AIR - Kant. H. C. R. 698 ::2003 Lab LR 354 ::(2003) 3 IndLD 655 ::2003 (1) CurLR 705 ::2003 (1) UJ (SC) 472 ::(2003) 96 FacLR 986 ::2003 SCC (L&S) 257 ::2003 (3) SCC 40 ::(2003) 1 LabLJ 1119 ::(2003) 1 Scale 671 ::2003 (2) ServLJ 52 SC ::(2003) 2 ServLJ 52 ::(2003) 2 AllMR 357 (SC) ::2003 (2) ACE 91 ::(2003) 2 All WC 1020 ::2003 (102) FJR 616 ::2003 (1) LabLN 805 ::(2003) 1 KHCACJ 418 (SC) ::2003 (2) KCCR 1144 ::(2003) 1 SCR 832 (SC) ::2003 (1) SCR 832 ::2003 (1) SCT 937 ::2003 (2) ServLR 326 ::(2003) 1 UPLBEC 927 ::2003 (2) SLT 103 ::2003 (2) Supreme 12 ::(2003) 4 AllIndCas 495 (SC) ::(2003) 1 JT 644 (SC) ::2003 (3) SRJ 390 ::2003 (1) JT 644

Supreme Court Of India

(From : Karnataka)*

Hon'ble Judge(s): Shivaraj V. Patil, Arijit Pasayat , JJ

Payment of Gratuity Act (39 of 1972) , S.7(3A) Proviso— Delayed payment of gratuity - Interest, on - When can be paid - Delay in payment of gratuity not due to fault of employee nor employer obtaining permission for delayed payment from Controlling Authority - Denial of interest by single Judge of High Court only on ground that there was doubt whether employee was entitled to gratuity in view of divergent opinion of Courts during pendency of enquiry - Not legal - Division Bench of High Court also finding employee to be entitled to interest declining to interfere with order of denial of interest on ground that discretion exercised by single Judge was not arbitrary - Not justified. W.A. No. 4177 of 2001, D/- 21-11-2001 (Kant.), Reversed. Payment of gratuity with or without interest as the case may be does not lie in the domain of discretion but it is a statutory compulsion. Specific benefits expressly given in a social beneficial legislation cannot be ordinarily denied. Employees on retirement have valuable rights to get gratuity and any culpable delay in payment of gratuity must be visited with the penalty of payment of interest. Where interest on delayed payment of gratuity was denied only on the ground that there was doubt whether the employee was entitled to gratuity, cash equivalent to leave etc., in view of divergent opinion....