Kerala HC upholds its order on gratuity benefits for KSRTC staff

Kochi : A high court division bench has upheld a single bench order, which ruled that KSRTC employees are entitled to gratuity benefits, by quashing a govt notification that exempted the corporation from the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972.

You Can Also Check: Gold Rate in Kochi | Silver Rate in Kochi | Bank Holidays in Kochi | Public Holidays in Kochi Stay updated with the latest Kochi news. A bench of Justices Devan Ramachandran and Basant Balaji passed the order while dismissing appeals filed by the KSRTC managing director challenging the single bench’s order. The appellant contended that the benefits available to employees under their service, as per the Kerala Service Rules (KSR), were better than those available under the Payment of Gratuity Act. It was also contended that the single bench had quashed the govt notification without considering this aspect. However, the division bench noted that the single bench had already analysed the statutory benefits and found them to be more favourable. The bench observed that since the corporation itself claimed to offer better benefits, it should not oppose the application of the Act. Finding no reason to interfere with the factual assessment, the court dismissed the appeals, observing that the KSRTC’s opposition was unwarranted given its professed willingness to provide the best available benefits to its employees. Download the TOI App.