In Brief
Nationalised banks had fixed 31.10.1994 as a cut-off date for calculating employee gratuity on revised pay scales, despite revising pay from 01.07.1993. Employees who retired before the cut-off date received gratuity on pre-revised pay. After nearly 25 years of litigation across multiple courts, the Supreme Court held that the cut-off date was legally justified and not violative of constitutional equality. However, invoking its Article 142 jurisdiction to do complete justice, the Court awarded Rs. 2 lakh per employee as full and final settlement of all claims and litigation expenses, recognizing the prolonged hardship caused to the small group of litigants."
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