Anil Kumar Mandal vs The State West Bengal & Ors
2021 Latest Caselaw 1424 Cal

267   12.02.2021                          WPA 3783 of 2021
Dd
Ct.
15
                                        Anil Kumar Mandal
                                              Vs
                                   The State West Bengal & Ors.



                           Mr. Goutam Kumar Maity ... for the Petitioner

                           Ms. Mita Biswas ... ..For the State



                                   Affidavit of service filed in court today is kept with

                   the record. The petitioner was an Assistant Teacher of a Primary

                   School who retired on 30.04.2009. The first pension payment order

                   was issued on 11.08.2009 under the ROPA Rules, 2009, there was

                   revision of the pensionary and gratuity amount payable to the

                   petitioner. The revised pension payment order was issued on

                   04.07.2013 and the revised gratuity and arrear pension amount was

                   disbursed on 13.08.2013 in terms of ROPA, 2009. The petitioner

                   claims interest on delayed payment of the revised gratuity and arrear

                   pension amount.

                                   There is a considerable delay in filing of the writ

                   petition, which the petitioner seeks to justify by stating that there is

                   no statutory period of limitation and neither parties have suffered

                   due to this delay. It is the submission of the petitioner that

                   accordingly the petition should be allowed. The petitioner relies

                   upon an order in W.P. 17557 (W) of 2017 (Narayan Chandra Saha

                   vs. State of West Bengal & Ors.) wherein a coordinate Bench had

                   relied upon the Supreme Court judgment in the case of Union of

                   India vs. Tarmen Singh, reported in (2008) 8 SCC 648 on the issue
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of limitation relating to payment or refixation of pay or pension

wherein the Apex Court had held that relief may be granted in spite

of delay as it does not affect the rights of the third party.

                In view of the above and after hearing the learned

Counsel for the parties, I direct the Director of Pension, Provident

Fund and Group Insurance, Government of West Bengal as also the

concerned Treasury Officer to pay interest to the petitioner @ 8%

per annum on the revised gratuity and arrear pension amount

calculated on and from 1.06.2009 till the date of actual payment.

Such payment is to be made within a period of eight weeks from the

date of communication of this order.

                This writ petition is, thus, disposed of.

                Since, no affidavit-in-opposition has been called for,

the allegations made in the writ petition are deemed to have not been

admitted by the respondents.

There will be no order as to costs.

Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if

applied for, be given to the parties, on priority basis.

(Rajarshi Bharadwaj, J.)