Sonali Hatua Giri vs Union Of India And Others
2021 Latest Caselaw 1836 Cal

Daily List 37.
Bpg.

March 10,
2021


                   In the High Court at Calcutta
                    Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction
                        (Via Video Conference)

                            W.P.A.13806 of 2019


                              Sonali Hatua Giri
                                   Versus
                           Union of India and others


                      Mr. Sankar Nath Mukherjee,
                      Mr. Niraj Gupta,
                      Mr. Priyabrata Saha,
                      Mr. Adutya Biswas,
                      Ms. Parna Mukherjee.
                                       ...for the petitioner.

                      Mr. Rudraman Bhattacharya,
                      Mr. Anuran Samanta,
                      Ms. Moumita Karmakar.
                                   ...for the Union of India.




                           Arguments are advanced by both sides on

                 the vires of Clause 5.2.5 of the Guidelines for

                 Disbursement of Central Samman Pensions to be

                 followed by Authorized Public Sector Banks.

                           Regarding the merits on the factual score,

                 learned    counsel   for   the   respondent-authorities

submits that, at present, a reference before a larger

Bench is pending pertaining to the issue as to

whether a widow/divorced daughter can be placed on

a similar footing as an unmarried daughter for the

purpose of interpretation of Clauses 5.2.3 and 5.2.5

of the said Guidelines. As such, it is urged that the

matter may be postponed till the hearing of the said

reference before the Supreme Court.

Learned counsel for the petitioner argues

that the reference before the larger Bench of the

Supreme Court arose from a Himachal Pradesh High

Court judgment, which probably did not take into

account a previous judgment of the Supreme Court

on the same point, which regarded unmarried and

widow/divorced daughter at par.

Be that as it may, in view of the pendency of

the matter relating to conjoint interpretation of the

aforementioned clauses before the Supreme Court,

judicial decorum prevents this Court from going into

the factual aspects of the matter in the event both

Clauses 5.2.3 and 5.2.5 subsist in the Guidelines.

However, such question becomes redundant in the

event the petitioner succeeds in having a declaration

from this Court that Clause 5.2.5 is ultra vires, since

in that event, the subsistence of apparently

contradictory clauses would not come into question at

all.

As such, let the matter be enlisted on March

12, 2021 at 10.30 a.m., when both sides shall file

their respective written notes of arguments on the

vires of Clause 5.2.5 of the Guidelines.

(Sabyasachi Bhattacharyya, J.)