Anima Dirghangi vs State Of West Bengal & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 5025 Cal

02.08.2022.
Court No. 13
 Item no. 535.
    sp
                           W.P.A. No. 12011 of 2022

                              Anima Dirghangi
                                     Versus
                            State of West Bengal & Ors.

                 Mr. Sakti Pada Jana,
                 Mr. Subhajyoti Das
                                                ..For the petitioner.




                       Affidavit-of-service filed in Court today is
                 taken on record.


                       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 husband of the petitioner retired from
                 service on attaining the age of superannuation
                 on 31.01.2005.


                       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 husband of the
                 petitioner exercised option to switch over from
                 CPF to GPF and claims to have refunded the
                 employer's share of contribution with interest
                 and additional interest on 19.06.2015.
                          2




      Pension Payment Order was issued in
favour of the husband of the petitioner with
effect from the date of refund of the employer's
share of contribution. The employee died on
14.06.2019

.

The petitioner claims that pension ought to have been released 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.

The teacher died on 14.06.2019 and 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 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 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.

For the aforesaid purpose, the DI of

Schools concerned shall process the claim for

arrears of pension and make/forward a

necessary recommendation/sanction to the

DPPG expeditiously. The DPPG in turn shall act

based on such recommendation/sanction.

The writ petition stands disposed of.

Urgent certified photo copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties expeditiously on compliance of usual legal formalities.

(Rajasekhar Mantha, J.)