In Brief
Western Coal Fields Ltd and Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation challenged High Court orders setting aside forfeiture of gratuity upon employee termination for misconduct. The Supreme Court held that Section 4(6)(b)(ii) of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 permits gratuity forfeiture for acts constituting moral turpitude without requiring criminal conviction—a disciplinary finding suffices. Suppression of birth date and production of a forged certificate constitutes moral turpitude; the invalid appointment precludes gratuity entitlement entirely. However, for conductors' minor misappropriation, complete forfeiture was deemed harsh; the Court modified this to 25% forfeiture, releasing the balance. Appeals partly allowed with discretionary modifications on forfeiture extent.
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