Neutral Citation No. - 2025:AHC:71814 Court No. - 1 Case :- CONTEMPT APPLICATION (CIVIL) No. - 2086 of 2025 Applicant :- Kripa Shankar Prasad And 2 Others Opposite Party :- Arun Babu Gupta, Executive Engineer, Nalkoop Khand-Ii Counsel for Applicant :- Kailash Singh Kushwaha Hon'ble Salil Kumar Rai,J. The present contempt application has been filed pleading willful disobedience of the order dated 15.5.2023 passed by this Court in Writ-A No. 7897 of 2023 whereby this Court had directed the Executive Engineer Tube Well Division-II, Ballia, U.P. to decide the representation of the applicant for award of interest on delayed payment of gratuity. There is no statutory provision empowering the Executive Engineer to decide the interest payable to the applicant on delayed payment of gratuity. The interest can only be awarded by an authority, who is empowered to decide the same whether it be a Tribunal or the prescribed authority under the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. No administrative authority has the power to adjudicate the issue regarding award of interest. It is impossible for the Executive Engineer to comply with the order dated 15.5.2023 passed by this Court. In view of the aforesaid, no willful disobedience of the order of this Court can be imputed to the opposite party. The contempt application is dismissed. Order Date :- 6.5.2025 Anurag/- Digitally signed by :- ANURAG KUMAR VERMA High Court of Judicature at Allahabad