Shivani Gadhavi
Published On: January 31, 2022 at 16:45 IST
The Rajasthan High Court observed that an Employee can seek Gratuity either from Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 or under the Regulations that are framed by any bank. The Rajasthan High Court also stated that an Employee cannot seek the benefits of both the Statutes.
The Rajasthan High Court Bench comprising of Chief Justice Akil Qureshi and Justice Rameshwar Vyas, was hearing a Petition which sought answers in regards with whether an Employee of a Gramin Bank can seek benefits of Gratuity under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 or the Rajasthan Marudhara Gramin Bank (Officers and Employees) Service Regulations, 2010.
The Petition also raised a question that whether employees can claim benefits of Gratuity under both the Statutes i.e., the Payment Act and the Regulations of 2010. The Petition also asked a question that whether there exists a difference between the term ‘Employee’ and the term ‘Officer’.
The Rajasthan High Court Bench in regards with seeking of Gratuity stated that “The Employee, therefore, can claim Gratuity either under the Act of 1972 or under the Regulations framed by the bank, but cannot claim the benefit under both the Statutes.”
The Division Bench in regards with the difference between the two aforementioned terms, stated that “The regulation 72, thus, at every stage makes a clear distinction between an officer and an employee for computation of gratuity. Sub-regulation (3) makes entirely different provisions for both classes of persons.”
The Bench while allowing the Petition stated that “In the result, all the Appeals are allowed. Resultantly, the Judgment of the learned Single Judge and the Orders passed by the Controlling Authority as well as the Appellate Authority are set aside.”