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TMI Blog1988 (1) TMI 349X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... nefits including gratuity as per the said notification irrespective of whether they had retired prior to 1.1.1973 or thereafter. The above decision was given by the Central Administrative Tribunal, New Delhi in REGN No. T-853/85 (C.W. No. 2709185) which was a petition filed by the All India Services Pensioners Association (Rajasthan) and one R.D. Mathur, an IAS officer who had retired from service prior to 1.1.1973. The Union of India, the appellant herein, has not questioned the order of the Central Administrative Tribunal insofar as its liability to pay the pension in accordance with the judgment of the Tribunal is concerned. This appeal by special leave is confined only to that part of the order of the Tribunal by which the Union of India is directed to pay gratuity in accordance with the aforesaid notification even to those members of the All India Services who had retired prior to 1.1.1973. The crucial point for consideration in this appeal is whether the members of a service who had retired prior to the date on which there is an upward revision of the gratuity on retirement to the members of such service would also be entitled to claim the difference between the gratuity p ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ion will make it clear. Improvements in pay scales by the very nature of things can be made prospectively so as to apply to only those who are in the employment on the date of the upward revision. Those who were in employment say in 1950, 1960 or 1970, lived, spent, and saved, on the basis of the then prevailing cost of living structure and pay- scale structure, cannot invoke Art. 14 in order to claim the higher pay scale brought into force say, in 1980. If upward pay revision cannot be made prospectively on account of Article 14, perhaps no such revision would ever be made. Similar is the case with regard to gratuity which has already been paid to the petitioners on the then prevailing basis as it obtained at the time of their respective dates of retirement. The amount got crystalized on the date of retirement on the basis of the salary drawn by them on the date of retirement. And it was already paid to them on that footing. The transaction is completed and closed. There is no scope for upward or downward revision in the context of upward or downward revision of the formula evolved later on in future unless the provision in this behalf expressly so provides retrospectively (downwa ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... gratuity granted to pensioners by the amendment made in 1975 and 1979 shall be payable to all persons entitled to pensionary benefits under the Retirement benefits rules, 1958 irrespective of the date of the retirement from service. It has been repeatedly laid down by the Supreme Court that the decision of the larger Bench prevails over the decision of the smaller benches vide Ganapati Sitaram Balvalkar v. Waman Shripad Mage, A.I.R. 1981 S.C. 1956; Mattulala v.Radhe Lal, A.I R. 1974 S.C. 1596; Union of India v. K.S. Subramanian, A.I.R. 1976 S.C. 433. Even assuming that some aspects have not been taken into account by the Supreme Court, no Court or Tribunal of India can take a view different from that taken by the Supreme Court. As held by the Supreme Court in T. Govindaraja Mudaliar v. State of Tamilnadu, A.I.R. 1973 S.C. 974 merely because the aspect presented in the present appeal was not expressly considered or a decision given, that will not take away the binding effect of those decisions of the Supreme Court. Vide Somavanti v. State of Punjab, A.I.R. 1963 S.C. 151. It may be pertinent to note that even in the Andhra Pradesh State Government Pensions Associati ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... be applicable to any order of pension passed by any State Government. That would indeed be a startling proposition with which we do not agree. As regards the third ground it is no doubt true that the High Court of Punjab Haryana in its decision in V. P. Gautama v. Union of India and Ors., [1984] Labour and Industrial Cases 154 had observed that it follows that the liberalised pensionary benefits including death-cum- retirement gratuity granted to pensioners by the amendment made in 1975 and 1979 shall be payable to all persons entitled to pensionary benefits under the Retirement Benefits Rules, 1958 irrespective of the date of the retirement from service . But at the end of its decision the High Court passed the following order: In the result, a writ of mandamus is issued to the Union of India and the other respondents directing them to compute and pay pensionary benefits to the petitioner along with interest on the amounts becoming payable to him in terms of this order. The petitioner shall also be entitled to the costs of this petition. When the Special Leave Petition was filed against the said decision this Court passed the following order: Special leave t ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 6 of 1983 just now dismissed by us we allow the writ petitions. The judges of the High Court and of the Supreme Court will be entitled to the pensionary benefits under the amended Act of 1973 irrespective of the dates of their retirement. They will be so entitled with effect from 1.10.1974. Arrears of pension calculated under the provision of the new Act will be paid to those to whom it is due within four months from today. In the case of Judges who have died after 1.10.1974 the amounts due will be paid to the legal heirs of the Judges within four months from today. The family pension due to the widows will be calculated under the provisions of the 1976 Amending Act and paid to them. Ad-hoc payments made, if any, will be adjusted while making such payments. The writ petitions are disposed of accordingly. What we have said about pensionary benefits does not apply to payment of gratuity. (underlining by us) From the foregoing it is clear that this Court has made a distinction between the pension payable on retirement and the gratuity payable on retirement. While pension is payable periodically as long as the pensioner is alive, gratuity is ordinarily paid only once on retirem ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X
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