Gratuity instead of ex gratia payment as part of severence pay

I have completed 5.5 years in company (hence eligible for gratuity). Recently been laid off. Now as part of compensation - All employees are getting ex-gratia amount equal to 15 days multiplied by number of years in service. In my case, they are saying you will get gratuity only instead of ex gratia.
Hence want to know opinion on this. I feel gratuity was my right anyhow (by law), and I should be getting ex-gratia also, otherwise what is benefit I am getting for working for more than 5 years from employees who have worked for less than 5 years.

You are eligible for gratuity, if you worked for more than 5.5 years then your services would be counted for 6 years.
As regards ex-gratia, it would depend on its terms and conditions, so the document or order regarding the same is to be considered which may be provided. It is intriguing that only you are deprived of gratuity, is it that exgratia is paid to those not eligible for gratuity?
It also needs to be clarified as to whether you are coming within the definition of workmen as per ID Act 1947, if so it is possible that you may be eligible for retrenchment compensation. (again 15 days salary for every completed year of service) This requires proper examination of both the facts and point of law.

My monthly salary is more than 2 lakh hence IMO, I will not fall under workmen definition.

And yes, other laid off employees (with less than 5 years tenure in company) getting ex-gratia (equals to 15 days multiple by number of years in service). But in my case - HR saying - since you would be getting gratuity - you will not get ex-gratia.

The concept of exgratia is that its in addition to what is required by law.
So you can't really force them employer to pay it. What they are required to pay is notice pay and gratuity and any other terminal benefit stated in your appointment letter.

The only case you can insist on it is if this is a part of a scheme and you are included in the scheme.

Incidentally, everyone else is getting less than you, I hope you realise that.

By lay off, I understand, you mean termination or retrenchment of service. In this case, the ex gratia, I believe, is the retrenchment compensation as per 25F of the ID Act. That is available only to employees who do not have any supervisory role. The retrenchment compensation is 15 days salary for every completed year of service. For that qualifying service is just 240 days during 12 months preceding the date of retrenchment. Over and above this every employee will be eligible to get gratuity equal to 15 days pay for every completed year of service. Gratuity is available to all employees including managers who have completed 5 years of service. You being a manager will not get it the former but the latter only. As such the company is right in their approach.

"lay-off" (with its grammatical variations and cognate expressions) means the failure, refusal or inability of an employer on account of shortage of coal, power or raw materials or the accumulation of stocks or the break-down of machinery or natural calamity or for any other connected reason, to give employment to a worker whose name is borne on the muster rolls of his industrial establishment and who has not been retrenched.
Compensation for lay off to the workman whose name is borne on the muster roll of the industrial establishment and who has completed not less than one year of continuous service, he shall be paid by the employer for all days during which he has laid off, except for the weekly holidays as may intervene, compensation which shall be equal to fifty percent of the total basic wages and dearness allowance that would have been payable to him had he not been laid off. It is payable for first 45 days . If employer is not in a position to resume the work, then he can retrench the workers by following procedure as per Sec 25 F of ID Act by paying compensation of notice pay and retrenchment compensation. The poster might have denied compensation of lay off being in managerial category.