The Bombay High Court on Friday dismissed Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay’s appeal challenging the orders of the Assistant Labour Commissioner (Central), [acting as Controlling Authority], which directed the institute to pay gratuity to three contract workers under the Payment of Gratuity Act.
The Controlling Authority had ruled in January 2022 that IIT Bombay was liable to pay Rs1.89 lakh to Tanaji Lad, Rs2.35 lakh to Dadarao Ingale, and Rs4.28 lakh to the late Raman Garase, along with 10% annual interest from their respective retirement dates.
IIT argued that the workers were contract labourers supplied by various contractors, including M/s Moosa Services Company, and that there was no direct employer-employee relationship between the institute and the respondents. However, the Controlling and Appellate Authorities rejected this argument, noting that the workers had been consistently employed by IIT Bombay, despite being under different contractors since 1999.
The workers’ advocates Gayatri Singh and Sudha Bhardwaj submitted that the trio had been working with the institute since 1999 through several different contractors.
Justice Sandeep Marne questioned why IIT Bombay had not explicitly included gratuity payment in its contracts, given that it had mandated other contributions like ESIC and PF. The judge also pointed out that the workers continued to be employed despite the contractual clause limiting work duration to 89 days. The Court found no error in the decisions of the Controlling and Appellate Authorities.
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Two of the three employees have already received the principal gratuity amount, with only the interest pending. The legal heirs of the deceased worker, Raman Garase, are entitled to the gratuity, which has been deposited in court. IIT Bombay has been ordered to pay the remaining interest to the workers and their heirs within two months.
Garase, worked for the institute for over 39 years as a gardener, allegedly died by suicide on May 1, after legal tussel with the institute for several years over payment of gratuity.