Disposed¶11

Emam Ali Hazam v. the National Jute Manufactures Corporation Ltd.& Ors.

Calcutta HC3 Apr 2024WPA/9037/2009

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

Calcutta High Court, WPA 9037 of 2009, decided 03.04.2024 (Raja Basu Chowdhury, J.) - retiral benefits/V.R.S. settlement dispute; ex gratia Rs.83,470.75p and gratuity Rs.15,965.25 already paid and accepted in full and final settlement by signed receipt; 2007 provident fund application unresolved, respondents unable to confirm disbursal; unpaid PF transferred to Regional Provident Fund Commissioner after all employees took V.R.S. by 2011; liberty granted to pursue PF claim; writ petition disposed of.

What did the court decide?

Liberty granted to the petitioner to approach the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner to establish his provident fund claim, if any. ¶11

Emam Ali Hazam Vs the National Jute Manufactures Corporation Ltd.& Ors. — Calcutta HC (2024) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Liberty granted to the petitioner to approach the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner to establish his provident fund claim, if any.

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Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner is entitled to a direction upon the respondents to release the balance amount on account of V.R.S. and gratuity with interest. +1 more

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Court's answer

From the records it transpired that the petitioner had duly been disbursed his terminal benefits, including ex gratia of Rs.83,470.75p and gratuity of Rs.15,965.25.

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Ratio / Principle

The petitioner had acknowledged and accepted the aforesaid amounts in full and final settlement of V.R.S. by putting his signature on the receipt forming part of the records.

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Key takeaways

The respondents failed to identify whether provident fund amount had been disbursed in favour of the petitioner or not.ratio¶10
Taking note that the petitioner did not make any claim in the writ petition for disbursal of provident fund dues, liberty was granted to him to approach the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner for the purpose of establishing his claim, if any.ratio¶10

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

WPA 9037 of 2009 (High Court at Calcutta, Appellate Side; decided 03.04.2024 by Raja Basu Chowdhury, J.): A retired employee's writ petition sought a direction to release the balance amount on account of V.R.S. and gratuity with interest. Records showed his terminal benefits had duly been disbursed - ex gratia Rs.83,470.75p and gratuity Rs.15,965.25 - and that he had acknowledged and accepted these sums in full and final settlement of V.R.S. by signing a receipt kept in the records. As to provident fund, his 2007 application for settlement of PF dues remained unverified: the respondents could not identify whether his PF had been disbursed or whether he appeared in the list of unpaid members whose balances, after all employees of respondent no.1 took V.R.S. by 2011, were transferred to the respective Regional Provident Fund Commissioner (the PF being vested with and managed by the Board of Trustees of National Company Limited, Jute Mill Workers' Provident Fund, Kolkata). Since the petitioner had made no PF claim in the writ petition, liberty was granted to him to approach the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner to establish his claim, if any. Writ petition disposed of.

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4 03.04.2024

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sb Ct 5

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IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION APPELLATE SIDE

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WPA 9037 of 2009

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Emam Ali Hazam Vs.

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National Jute Manufacturers Corporation Ltd. & Ors.

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Mr. Mojnu Sk. Mr. Firoz Ahmed … For the petitioner.

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Mr. Rahul Karmakar Mr. Surya Prasad Chattopadhyay Mr. Saunak Mukherjee Mr. Ankit Chatterjee

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… For the respondent nos.1 and 2.

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The present writ petition has been filed, inter alia , praying for a direction upon the respondents to release the balance amount on account of V.R.S. and gratuity with interest.

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Since the matter concerns disbursal of retiral benefits and despite direction, no affidavit-in-opposition having been filed, by an order dated 21^st March, 2023, this Court had directed the respondents to produce the records of this case.

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Since then, Mr. Karmakar, learned advocate representing the respondent nos. 1 and 2 had produced the records of this case. Although, initially truncated records had been produced but subsequently the entire records have been produced.

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From the records it would transpire that the petitioner had duly been disbursed his terminal

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benefits, which, inter alia, includes ex gratia and gratuity. It appears that a sum of Rs.83,470.75p was paid on account of ex gratia while a sum of Rs.15,965.25 was paid account of gratuity.

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The petitioner had acknowledged and accepted the aforesaid amount in full and final settlement of V.R.S., by putting his signature on the copy of the receipt which also forms part of the records.

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On 14^th March, 2024, Mr. Sk, learned advocate representing the petitioner acknowledged the fact that the petitioner had duly been disbursed the entire gratuity amount. However, insofar as provident fund is concerned, according to him despite making an application before the authorities way back in the year 2007, the same had not been disbursed.

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Taking note of the submissions made on behalf of the petitioner, this Court by an order dated 14^th March, 2024 had directed the respondent nos. 1 to 4 to file an affidavit disclosing whether any amount on account of provident fund had been disbursed in favour of the petitioner pursuant to his application for settlement of his provident fund dues made in the year 2007.

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Pursuant to and in terms thereof, an affidavit has been filed. in such affidavit it has been claimed that the provident fund of the respondent no.1 was vested with and was managed by the Board of Trustees of National Company Limited, Jute Mill Workers’ Provident Fund

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Kolkata. Since all the employees of the respondent no.1 had obtained V.R.S. by 2011, after settlement of the provident fund dues of the employees, the unpaid amount has been transferred to the respective Regional Provident Fund Commissioner.

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Mr. Karmakar has, however, failed to identify whether the name of the petitioner features in such list of unpaid members and/or whether any amount on account of provident fund had been paid in favour of the petitioner.

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Be that as it may, although, the respondents have failed to identify whether provident fund amount had been disbursed in favour of the petitioner or not, however, taking note of the fact that the petitioner did not make any claim in the writ petition for disbursal of provident fund dues, liberty is granted to the petitioner to approach the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner for the purpose of establishing his claim, if any.

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With the above observations and directions the writ petition stands disposed of.

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Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be given to the parties upon compliance of necessary formalities.

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(Raja Basu Chowdhury, J.)

Emam Ali Hazam v. the National Jute Manufactures Corporation Ltd.& Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Emam Ali Hazam v. the National Jute Manufactures Corporation Ltd.& Ors.

Case brief

What is this about?

What did the court decide?

Why is it important?

What the court decided

Issues for consideration

Procedural history

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