Kerala High Court
C.V. Radhakrishnan vs Trichur Co-Operative Spinning Mills ... on 3 March, 2020
Author: V Raja Vijayaraghavan
Bench: V Raja Vijayaraghavan
IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM
PRESENT
THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V
TUESDAY, THE 03RD DAY OF MARCH 2020 / 13TH PHALGUNA, 1941
WP(C).NO.8901 OF 2019(K)
PETITIONER/S:
1 C.V. RADHAKRISHNAN,
S/O SANKARAN NAIR, VELLALATH HOUSE,
KOZHIKUNNU, MULAMKUNNATHUKAVU P.O.,
THRISSUR DISTRICT-680581.
2 P. MOHANAN, S/O KAMAKSHI AMMA,
PUZHANGARA HOUSE, THANIKUDAM P.O.,
KURICHIKARA, THRISSUR-680028.
3 M.S. NARAYANAN, S/O SUBRAMANIYAN,
MULLAKKAL HOUSE, KANJIRAKODE P.O.,
THRISSUR DISTRICT-680590.
4 K. UNNIKRISHNAN, AGED 63 YEARS
S/O KRISHNAN, KUNDIL KARUTHA MADAM,
P.O. VELUTHUR, THRISSUR DISTRICT-680589.
BY ADVS.
SRI.BINOY VASUDEVAN
SRI.P.BHASKARAN
RESPONDENT/S:
1 TRICHUR CO-OPERATIVE SPINNING MILLS LTD.,
VERUPPAKKA, P.O. VAZHANI, WADAKKANCHERY,
THRISSUR DISTRICT-680 589,
REPRESENTED BY ITS MANAGING DIRECTOR.
2 THE MANAGING DIRECTOR,
TRICHUR CO-OPERATIVE SPINNING MILLS LTD.,
VERUPPAKKA, P.O. VAZHANI,
WADAKKANCHERY, THRISSUR DISTRICT-680 589.
3 THE DEPUTY LABOUR COMMISSIONER,
THRISSUR (CONTROLLING AUTHORITY UNDER THE
PAYMENT OF GRATUITY ACT, 1972),
OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY LABOUR COMMISSIONER,
THRISSUR-680020.
WP(C).NO.8901 OF 2019(K) 2
4 THE DISTRICT COLLECTOR,
COLLECTORATE, CIVIL STATION,
THRISSUR-680003.
R1-2 BY ADV. SMT.LATHA ANAND
R1-3 BY ADV. SRI.P.SANKARANKUTTY NAIR
R4 BY GOVERNMENT PLEADER SMT POOJA SURENDRAN
THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING BEEN FINALLY HEARD ON
03.03.2020, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING:
WP(C).NO.8901 OF 2019(K) 3
JUDGMENT
The petitioners herein are the retired employees of the Trichur Co-operative Spinning Mills Limited. They have approached this Court aggrieved by the inaction on the part of the respondent Nos.1 and 2 in complying with the orders passed by the Deputy Labour Commissioner, Thrissur directing to disburse the gratuity payable to the petitioners herein under the provisions of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.
2. Sri. Binoy Vasudevan, the learned counsel appearing for the petitioners, submits that insofar as the petitioners herein are concerned, the application under Section 7A of the Payment of Gratuity Act was considered and final orders have been passed in their favour. Since the amounts were not paid, revenue recovery proceedings were also initiated. It is contended that the failure on the part of respondent Nos.1 and 2 in disbursing the amount of gratuity cannot be countenanced.
3. The learned standing counsel has filed a statement wherein, it is contended that the non payment of gratuity is not due to any willful default on the part of the respondents. It is contended that the 1 st WP(C).NO.8901 OF 2019(K) 4 respondent is going through a tough phase and is facing huge loss. The livelihood of more than 250 families who are employees of the establishment are affected. The loss per month of the 1 st respondent is Rs.30 lakhs and therefore, they are not even able to comply with the statutory commitments. It is due to extreme financial difficulty that the 1st respondent has been unable to pay the gratuity amount. However, steps are being taken to disburse the amount on seniority basis. The amount due to the petitioners will be disbursed within a period of six months is the submission.
4. In view of the said submission, I dispose of this Writ Petition directing the respondent Nos.1 and 2 to disburse the amounts of gratuity due to the petitioners herein as expeditiously as possible, at any rate, within the outer limit of six months from today.
Sd/-
RAJA VIJAYARAGHAVAN V JUDGE NS WP(C).NO.8901 OF 2019(K) 5 APPENDIX PETITIONER'S/S EXHIBITS:
EXHIBIT P1 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT IN G.C. NO.72/2018 DATED 13.11.2018.
EXHIBIT P2 TRUE COPY OF THE SHOWCASE NOTICE DATED 11.1.2019 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT.
EXHIBIT P3 TRUE COPY OF THE SHOW CAUSE NOTICE DATED 15.5.2018 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT.
EXHIBIT P4 TRUE COPY OF THE REQUISITION DATED 24.7.2018 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT. EXHIBIT P5 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER DATED 13.11.2018 IN G.C.107/2018 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT.
EXHIBIT P6 TRUE COPY OF THE SHOW CAUSE NOTICE DATED 11.1.2019 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT.
EXHIBIT P7 TRUE COPY OF THE ORDER IN G.C. NO.32/2015 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT DATED 16.2.2016.
EXHIBIT P8 TRUE COPY OF THE REQUISITION DATED 14.3.2018 ISSUED BY THE 3RD RESPONDENT. RESPONDENT(S) EXHIBITS:
ANNEXURE R1(a) TRUE COPY OF THE DETAILS OF GRATUITY DUES.
ANNEXURE R1(b) TRUE COPY OF DETAILS OF GRATUITY PAYMENTS TO THE EMPLOYEES.
ANNEXURE R1(c) TRUE COPYOF THE LETTER DATED 19.07.2018.