Facts
The petitioner, appointed as a Driver in 1992, was in service on 1 September 2023 and retired as a Special Grade Driver on 28 February 2025.
Source reference: p.2, p.5A wage settlement under Section 12(3) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947, was entered into on 29 May 2025. Under Clause 1, the settlement provided a 6% wage revision for employees in service on 1 September 2023, notionally effective from that date, with monetary benefits from 1 September 2024; arrears were payable in four quarterly instalments under Clause 37(b).
Source reference: p.2, p.4–5After seeking the settlement benefits, the petitioner filed this writ petition alleging that the Corporation had not revised his wages or paid the amounts due.
Source reference: p.3Issues
Whether the petitioner, who retired before the 29 May 2025 wage settlement, was entitled to its benefits because he was in service on 1 September 2023.
Source reference: p.2, p.5Whether the Corporation’s delay in revising the petitioner’s pay and paying the resulting monetary benefits warranted interest, and, if so, at what rate.
Source reference: p.5Law Applied
The Court applied the 15th wage settlement made under Section 12(3) of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947. Under Clause 1, employees in service on 1 September 2023 were entitled to a 6% revision of pay, effective notionally from that date, with monetary benefits from 1 September 2024; Clause 37(b) provided for arrears to be paid in four quarterly instalments.
Source reference: p.2, p.4–5The Court further stated that belated monetary benefits due to an employee should be paid with interest at 6% per annum.
Source reference: p.5No judicial precedent was cited.
Source reference: no citationReasoning
The petitioner was a permanent employee in service on the settlement’s eligibility date, 1 September 2023, and therefore fell within the class of employees entitled to the revision notwithstanding his retirement on 28 February 2025.
Source reference: p.5The Court distinguished the date from which pay was notionally revised from the date monetary benefits accrued: the scale was to be revised from 1 September 2023, but monetary benefits were payable from 1 September 2024.
Source reference: p.4–5Since the revision had not been made, the Court directed payment with 6% interest for the period beyond the time contemplated by Clause 37(b), continuing until actual payment.
Source reference: p.5Holding
The Court allowed the writ petition and directed the Corporation to revise the petitioner’s pay scale with effect from 1 September 2023 and provide the benefits arising under the settlement from 1 September 2024, within six months of receiving a copy of the order.
Interest at 6% per annum was ordered for the period beyond the time allowed under Clause 37(b) until actual payment; there was no order as to costs.
Source reference: p.5Acts & Sections Cited
1 provisions across 1 statute referred to in this judgment. Linked provisions open on LawLens.
Industrial Disputes Act, 19471
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V.Prakash,vsThe Management of
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