The Tripura High Court has directed the Tripura State Co-operative Consumers’ Federation Ltd to pay gratuity to the employees within a period of three months with statutory interest.
“Paying of gratuity is a matter of right to every employee. No employer can deny their rights,” observed the Single-Judge Bench of Justice Arindam Lodh on August 16.
The bench was hearing a batch of petitions, which said the petitioners were the employees of the Tripura State Co-operative Consumers’ Federation Ltd. They have retired from their respective services.
It is their grievance that their services were not pensionable and they are only entitled for gratuity. Though substantial days have elapsed, the Tripura State Co-operative Consumers’ Federation Ltd. have not been paying their legitimate claim for payment of gratuity, they added.
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P. Sahu, Counsel appearing for the respondents, particularly the Tripura State Co-operative Consumers’ Federation Ltd, submitted that the Federation has been incurring huge losses.
Justice Lodh observed that this cannot be a good ground for not paying the gratuity.
“Any violation or disobedience of this order will tantamount to contempt of court proceeding and the officers concerned shall be liable to face such contempt proceeding for non-payment of gratuity to the petitioners as ordered today,” the order read.