Namita Sadhukhan vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 2162 Cal

Court No. 24         IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
20.04.2022

Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction (Item No. 95) Appellate Side (AB) W.P.A. 5205 of 2022

Namita Sadhukhan VS The State of West Bengal & Ors.

Mr. Sakti Pada Jana ...... for the petitioner Ms. Mitali Mukherjee .............for the State

The issue to be decided in the present writ petition

is whether an employee will be entitled to receive pension

on and from the date following retirement or from the date

of refund of the employer's share of contribution.

The petitioner's husband retired from service on

attaining the age of superannuation on 31.07.2003. The

employee died on 21.03.2017.

In response to the notification published by the

School Education Department being No. 79-SE(L)/SL/5S-

56/13(Pt-V) dated 13th June, 2014 issued in compliance of

the direction passed by the Hon'ble Special Bench of this

Court in the judgment dated 16th July, 2013 in the matter

of District Inspector of Schools (S.E.), Kolkata -vs- Abhijit

Baidya the petitioner's husband exercised option to switch

over from CPF to GPF and refunded the employer's share of

contribution with interest and additional interest on

12.09.2014.

Pension Payment Order was issued in favour of the

petitioner with effect from the date of refund of the

employer's share of contribution.

The petitioner claims that pension ought to have

been released in favour of her husband on and from the

next date of retirement and not from the date of refund of

the employer's share of contribution.

A similar issue has been decided by this Court in

the matter of WPA No. 964 of 2022 (Sitala Mandal

(Chaudhuri) -vs- State of West Bengal & Ors.).

The judgment passed in the aforesaid matter on 8th

February, 2022 will cover the present writ petition.

As the teacher died in the meantime accordingly the

revised pension payment order is required to be issued in

favour of the widow of the deceased employee.

Instant writ petition is disposed of by directing the

Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group Insurance

and the concerned Treasury Officer to verify the records,

and in the event, it is found, that the husband of the

petitioner exercised option and refunded the employer's

share of contribution within the time specified in the

notification dated 13th June, 2014, then steps shall be

taken to issue Revised Pension Payment Order in favour of

the petitioner with effect from the date following the date of

retirement of her husband on superannuation and to

release the pension in accordance with the Revised Pension

Payment Order. Such steps shall be taken within a period

of twelve weeks from the date of communication of a copy

of this order. Payment shall positively be released

immediately upon issuance of the Revised Pension

Payment Order.

Affidavit of service kept with the record.

WPA 5205 of 2022 is disposed of.

Urgent certified photo copy of this judgment, if

applied for, be supplied to the parties expeditiously on

compliance of usual legal formalities.

(Amrita Sinha, J.)