Karnataka HC Dharwad bench tells Union, State to pay gratuity to retired clerk of medical college
Fixes amount with 10% interest; fine for delay after court order
Dharwad: The Dharwad bench of the Karnataka High Court has directed the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the Karnataka Department of Health and Family Welfare to pay a retired person the gratuity amount of about Rs. 4.1 lakh, inclusive of 10 per cent interest.
Babu, a native of Belagavi, who had been employed as First Division Clerk (FDA) at the post Postnatal Center of the Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College in 1973 and, after working at the center for 34 years, retired March 31, 2007. He had filed a petition in court for the payment of his gratuity.
The High Court bench warned during the hearing that, if the concerned authorities failed to pay the applicant the said amount within 10 days of the court order, they would have to pay him late fees as well, at the rate of Rs 1,000 a day, for every day between the court order and payment of the gratuity amount.
The bench reminded that employers had no authority to hold back from paying the gratuity to retired employees. The applicant was employed by the secretary of the Karnataka Department of Health and Family Welfare, but has had to wait for 16 years to get his gratuity from the government. This only shows the disinterest of the government regarding the welfare of the people, the bench added, censuring the authorities.
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MediaOne TV Facebook page restored after block linked to ‘government request’
Kochi: The official Facebook page of Malayalam news channel MediaOne TV has been restored after being blocked without prior notice, the broadcaster said on Wednesday.
The channel was quoted by Maktoob as saying that the restriction was lifted automatically, with Meta Platforms informing it that the action had been taken following a “government request” which has now expired or been reversed.
The development came shortly after the channel approached the Kerala High Court challenging the blocking of its page, terming it arbitrary and in violation of legal provisions and judicial precedents. The High Court had issued notice to Meta via email hours before the restriction was withdrawn.
In its petition, the channel said access to its Facebook page had been restricted for users in India without citing any specific content or alleged violation. It contended that while individual posts may be taken down under applicable a rule, blocking an entire page goes beyond the scope of such measures.
The incident followed an earlier action taken against the channel in 2022, when the Ministry of Information and transmitting prohibited it from transmitting. It cited national security concerns regarding the Ministry of Home Affairs' refusal of security clearance.
The Supreme Court of India in April 2023 set aside the ban, observing that national security claims cannot be made without substantive basis and that criticism of government policies does not render a media outlet anti-national.
