Alaka Datta Bhattacharya vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 5472 Cal

16.08.2022
Court No.13
Item No.707
KOLE
                                  WPA 12365 of 2022

                               Alaka Datta Bhattacharya
                                          VS.
                            The State Of West Bengal & Ors.


                Mr. Anirban Chakraborty
                                                ... For the Petitioner.

                Mr. Karabi Roy
                                                    ... For the State.


                     Affidavit of service file in Court today is taken

              on record.

                     The petitioner was an Assistant Head Master

              of a high school, who retired on 31.03.2017. The first

              pension payment order was issued on 06.03.2017.

              Under the ROPA Rules, 2019 there was revision of the

              pensionary and gratuity amount payable to the

              petitioner.   The revised pension payment order was

              issued on 08.02.2021 and the revised gratuity and

              revised arrear pension amount was disbursed on

              04.03.2021 in terms of ROPA, 2019. The petitioner

              claims interest on delayed payment of the revised

              gratuity and revised 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.
                       2




       The petitioner relies upon an order in W.P.

17557 (W) of 2017 (Narayan Chandra Saha vs. State

of West Bengal & Ors.) wherein a co-ordinate Bench

had relied upon the Supreme Court judgment in the

case of Union of India vs. Tarsem Singh, reported in

(2008) 8 SCC 648 on the issue 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 revised arrear

pension amount calculated on and from 14.02.2020

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.

       With these observations, the writ petition is

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.

(Rajasekhar Mantha, J.)