Gurcharan Singh Vs State of Punjab and Others

Constitutio n of India for issuance of a w rit in the nature of mandam u s directing t h e respondents to release servic e arrear retirement gratuity, GP F , compute, l e ave encashment, GIS (arrears) o r to grant him the interest on t h e delayed pa y ment of his service benefits on his retirement or decide his leg a l notice date d 28.02.2023 (Annexure P-1) i n view of the decision passed b y this Court in CWP-24729-2016, Subhash Chand Bansal Vs. State of Punjab and others , decided on 02.04.201 9 wherein, this Court has grant e d the interest @ 9% p.a. on delayed period.

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Learned counsel for the petiti o ner, inter alia , contends that t h e

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petitioner r e tired from service on 30.04.20 2 1 as a Junior Engineer, and at t h e time of hi s retirement, no disciplinary p r oceedings were pending again s t him. It is f u rther submitted that after the p e titioner’s retirement, a complai n t was filed b y one Sh. Kulwinder Kumar i n connivance with certain seni o r officers of the Corporation. Learned coun s el argues that the petitioner h a s not commi t ted any violation of the provisions of the Electricity Supp l y Instruction s Manual. It is submitted that th e application for disconnection o f the meter i n question had already been rec e ived by the concerned SDO, a n d the meter w as disconnected only after obt a ining his approval. Therefore, n o loss has be e n caused to the Department or to the complainant on account o f the allege d misconduct of the petitioner . Ultimately, the petitioner w a s exonerated from the disciplinary procee d ings on 21.08.2023 during t h e pendency o f present writ petition. Learned counsel further prays that t h e case of the petitioner is covered in terms o f the judgment rendered by a Fu ll Bench of t h is Court in A.S. Randhawa Supdg. Engineer (Retd.) vs. State o f Punjab 1998 (1) SCT 343 and j udgment o f this Court passed in Subhash Chand Bansal (supra).

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Per contra , learned counsel for the respondent-Corporati o n submits th a t all retiral dues of the petitione r were released forthwith after h e was exonerated and given a clean chit in O ctober 2023, i.e., within a peri o d of two months.

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I have heard the learned c o unsel for the parties and go n e through th e case file with their able assist a nce. It transpires that at the ti m e of retirement of petitioner no charge-she e t was pending against him. A s

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such, empl o yer has no right to initiate pr o ceedings in the absence of a n y statutory m a ndate.

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A Two Judge Bench of the H on’ble Supreme Court in Y.K. Singla v. Punjab National Bank, (2013) 3 SCC 472 speaking throu g h Justice J.S K hehar observed that,

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“22. In order to determine which o f the two provisions (the Gratui t y Act o r the 1995 Regulations) would b e applicable for determining t h e clai m of the appellant, it is also ess e ntial to refer to Section 14 of t h e Grat u ity Act, which is being extracte d hereunder:

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“ 14.Act to override other enactments, etc. —The provisions o f t his Act or any rule made thereunder shall have effe c t n o twithstanding anything incons i stent therewith contained in a n y e n actment other than this Act or in any instrument or contra c t h a ving effect by virtue of any ena c tment other than this Act.” (emphasis supplie d )

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r A pe r usal of Section 14 leaves no room for any doubt that a superi o statu s has been vested in the provis i ons of the Gratuity Act vis-à-v i s any o ther enactment (including an y other instrument or contrac t ) inco n sistent therewith. Therefore, i n sofar as the entitlement of a n empl o yee to gratuity is concerned, i t is apparent that in cases whe r e grat u ity of an employee is not regu l ated under the provisions of t h e Grat u ity Act, the legislature ha v ing vested superiority to t h e prov i sions of the Gratuity Act over all other provisions/enactmen t s (incl u ding any instrument or contr a ct having the force of law), t h e prov i sions of the Gratuity Act c annot be ignored. The ter m “inst r ument” and the phrase “instru m ent or contract having the for c e of l a w” shall most definitely be deemed to include the 19 9 5 Regulations, which regulate the pay m ent of gratuity to the appellant.”

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A Two Judge Bench of t h e Hon’ble Supreme Court i n Jyotirmay Ray v. The Field General Manager, Punjab National Bank 2023 INSC 979 while speaking through J u stice J.K Maheshwari made t h e following observation,

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“20. The Bank harmonizing the pro v isions of Regulation 46 of 19 7 9 Regulations and the Gratuity Act issued Circular No. 1563 o n

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16.0 1 .1997 through its personnel d i vision. Therein harmonizing t h e Regulations with the provisions of t h e Gratuity Act and in clauses 8 and 1 4 of the Circular, the instanc e s as to when gratuity could be forfeited , have been specified. Those clauses are relevant and ha v e been reproduced as under:

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"8. FORFEITURE OF GRATUITY UNDER ACT

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The g ratuity payable under the paym e nt of gratuity act, is liable to full or p a rtial forfeiture under differen t circumstances. Section 4(1) o f pay m ent of gratuity act deals to pa y ment of gratuity whereas secti o n 4(6) o f the act deals with forfeiture o f gratuity. Section 4(1) reads a s unde r :

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Grat u ity shall be payable to an em p loyee on the termination of h i s empl o yment after he has rendered c o ntinuous service for not less th a n five Y ears,

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a. O n his superannuation, or b. O n his retirement or resignation, o r c. O n his death or disablement due t o accident or disease. Prov i ded that the completion of con t inuous service of five years shall not b e necessary where the termin a tion of the employment of a n y empl o yee is due to death or disablement. Secti o n 4(6) provides as under:

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"Notwithstanding anything co n tained in sub-section (1) a. The gratuity of an emplo y ee, whose services have been terminated f or any act, wilfu l omission or negligence causi n g any damage or loss to, or des t ruction of, property belonging t o the employee, shall be forfeited to the extent of the damage o r loss so caused:

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r b. The gratuity payable to a n employee may be wholly o partially forfeited. I) If the services of such empl oy ee have been terminated for h i s riotous or disorderly conduct or any other act of violence o n his part, or

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r II) If the services of such em p loyee have been terminated f o any act which constitutes an of fence involving moral turpitud e , provided that such offence is c ommitted by him in the course o f his employment.

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14. PAYMENT UNDER OFFICERS SERVICE REGULATIONS

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Rules relating to payment of g ratuity of officers staff have be e n laid down under Regulatio n 46 of PNB Officers Servi c e Regulations, 1979 which is as u nder:(I) Every officer shall be eligi b le for gratuity on: (a) Retirement, (b) death (c) disablement rendering him un f it for further service as certified by a medical officer approved b y the bank, or (d) resignation after completing ten years o f continuous service or termin a tion of service in any other w a y

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except by way of punishment after completion of 10 years o f service.

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Explanation: We have to cla r ify that gratuity may be paid i n case of termination of service, subject to the condition that t h e officers has put in at least 10 y ears of service with the bank a n d r provided that the terminatio n is not by way of dismissal o removal from service as punis h ment. (II) The amount of gratuity p a yable to an officer shall be o n e month's pay for every compl e ted year of service, subject to a maximum of 15 months' pay.

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Provided that where an offic e r has completed more than 3 0 years of service, he shall be e ligible by way of gratuity for a n additional amount at the rate o f one half of month pay for ea c h completed year of service bey o nd thirty years. Pay for the purpose of gratu i ty in case of officer shall me a n basic pay only. While calcula t ing gratuity, that part of PQA & FPA drawn by an officer, w hich rank for superannuati o n benefit, shall also be taken int o account. Note: If the fraction of ser v ice beyond completed years o f service is six months or more, gratuity will be paid pro-rata f o r the period. In this connection, we have to clarify that for t h e purpose of calculating gratui ty , the number of days, beyond 6 months period is also to be ta k en into account.” On a combined reading of the pro v isions of the Gratuity Act, 19 7 9 Regulations and the circular, it bec o mes clear that the gratuity shal l become payable to every officer on retirement, death, disablement o r on resignation except in a case of termination of service in any oth e r way, by way of punishment after co m pletion of 10 years of continuo u s servi c e.”

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The provisions of Section 4(6 ) of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, is also triggered only upon the "term i nation" of an employee's servi c e for specifi c acts of misconduct. The petitioner superannuated; his servic e s were not "t e rminated" as a punitive measur e . 8. The respondent's action of wit h holding gratuity is untenable, a s it does no t fall under any of the exhaus t ive conditions stipulated in t h e Payment o f Gratuity Act, 1972. Gratuity c a nnot be withheld for extraneo u s

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reasons. If the respondent seeks to recove r a loss, it must do so by filing a civil suit, n o t by illegally withholding a sta t utory benefit. 9. In view of the above, th e present petition is allowe d . Responden t s are directed to ensure the r e lease the amount of interest o n delayed pa y ment to the petitioner at the ra t e of 6% per annum in lieu of al l admissible retiral dues in terms of A.S. Randhawa (supra). The same shal l be calculat e d from two months after his re t irement till its actual realizatio n . The respondent(s)/competent authority is d irected to do the needful with i n 03 months o f receipt of a certified copy of t h is order. 10. Pending miscellaneous applic a tion(s), if any, shall also stan d s disposed o f .

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(HARPREET SINGH BRAR) JUDGE

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November 17, 2025 P.C Whether speakin g /reasoned. : Yes/No Whether Reporta b le. : Yes/No

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Gurcharan Singh v. State of Punjab and Others

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Gurcharan Singh v. State of Punjab and Others

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