Media Services Pvt Ltd vs. Commissioner General of Labour – CA WRIT 0372/2022-2025

In the case between Media Services Pvt Ltd and the Commissioner General of Labour, the court addressed whether the Commissioner General of Labour possessed jurisdiction to inquire into the forfeiture of gratuity under Section 13 of the Payment of Gratuity Act when the employee in question resigned voluntarily. It was held that the Commissioner’s inquiry was legally permissible and that contractual agreements or undertakings among the parties did not divest such statutory authority. The decision reaffirmed the principle that statutory rights and remedies under the Payment of Gratuity Act cannot be curtailed by private agreements where statutory conditions for forfeiture are not satisfied. Reliance was placed on the interpretation of the Payment of Gratuity Act, the Industrial Disputes Act,