Sadguru Daskishan Sai Baba Mandal v. Vaishali More
Case brief
What is this about?
Gratuity refund; employer's Exhibit C-6 application before First Labour Court, Mumbai rejected; employee (Vaishali More) questioning termination via labour reference does not make paid gratuity refundable; Sheikh Mehmood v. Universal Medikit Pvt. Ltd., 2020 (1) Mh.LJ 11 distinguished (arose from challenge to Controlling Authority order under Payment of Gratuity Act; Section 28 MRTU & PULP Act context); refund-of-benefits principle confined to VRS where receipt is voluntary, unlike gratuity on termination; Writ Petition No. 232 of 2025, High Court of Judicature at Bombay, Sandeep V. Marne, J., dismissed 24 November 2025.
What did the court decide?
The judgment in Sheikh Mehmood s/o Abdul Mannan (2020 (1) Mh.LJ 11) cannot be used to seek refund of gratuity already paid to the employee: it was rendered in a challenge to an order passed by the Controlling Authority under the Payment of Gratuity Act, whereas in the present case the Respondent had already been paid gratuity by the employer and had initiated no proceedings for payment of gratuity.