#BulletinBoard (March 23, 2018)

Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill, 2017 Passed by Lok Sabha

The Specific Relief (Amendment) Bill, 2017 introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 22, 2017 was passed by the Lok Sabha on March 15, 2018. The bill is now awaiting assent of the Rajya Sabha. The crucial amendments proposed in this bill deal with specific performance, substituted performance, injunctions, special courts, recovery of possessions and empanelment of technical experts.

Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill, 2017 Passed by Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha

The Payment of Gratuity (Amendment) Bill introduced in the Lok Sabha on December 18, 2017, was passed by the Lok Sabha on March 15, 2018 and subsequently by the Rajya Sabha on March 22, 2018. Therefore, the amendments proposed in the bill have been affected by legislative assent. The crucial amendments in this bill deal with the central government’s ability to notify the period of maternity leave eligible for qualifying as a continuous service and determining the amount of gratuity available to the employees. Most notably, the amendment has removed the INR 10 lakh gratuity ceiling per employee.

Rule Change Triggers Gratuity Benefits for Fixed Term Contract Employees

The Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 stipulates that gratuity benefits can only be availed by full time employees who have been employed in continuous service by the company for a period of 5 years. After the March 16, 2018 notification of the Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Central (Amendment) Rules, the benefit of gratuity was extended to fixed contract employees – a class of employees that had not before said notification, enjoyed gratuity benefits. The amended Rules have introduced the hiring of industrial workers on fixed-term contracts and specifically stated that “all such workers would be eligible for all statutory benefits available to a permanent workman proportionately according to the period of service rendered by him, even if his period of employment does not extend to the qualifying period of employment required in the statute”.

Upon being consulted for a legal opinion on this issue, the Ministry of Law and Justice have contended that The Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act and rules framed thereunder are independent and the provisions therein will also be interpreted independently. Therefore, the provisions of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 will not limit the functioning of the former. They also cited Article 43 of the Constitution’s under Directive Principles of State Policy in this regard, stating that the “benefits provided to any class of workers will be seen as a pragmatic step furthering the constitutional goal”.

Therefore, the current legal position is such that workers hired under fixed-term contracts will be entitled for gratuity from employers whenever their contract ends, even if they have not completed five years of continuous service, as was the earlier requirement.

Supreme Court Issues Directions for Right to Information (“RTI”) Applications

The Supreme Court issued an order on March 20, 2018 in Common Cause v The High Court of Allahabad & Ors., directing all government authorities to ensure that no RTI application is at a cost higher than INR 50/- (Rupees Fifty Only). The Supreme Court also mandated that the cost of photocopying should not be higher than INR 5/- (Rupees Five Only) per page. The Supreme Court further adjudged on issues of disclosure of motive, Chief Justice’s permission for disclosure of information, disclosure of information on matters pending adjudication and intra-department transfer of application.

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