Dilip Kumar Kundu vs State Of West Bengal & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 6099 Cal

30.08.2022
Item No. 1232
Court No.13.
AGM/CHC

                                 WPA 13064 OF 2022


                                  Dilip Kumar Kundu
                                          Vs.
                              State of West Bengal & Ors.

                      Mr. Uttam Kumar Dey,
                                      ...for the petitioner.


                      The affidavit-of-service filed by the learned

                Advocate for the petitioner in Court today be kept with

                the record.

                      No   one   appears    on   behalf   of   the   state

                respondent.

The petitioner was an Assistant Teacher of a

High School, who retired from service on 30.68.2007.

The first pension payment order was issued on

11.06.2007. 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 21.11.2012 and the gratuity and

revised arrear pension was disbursed on 31.12.2012

in terms of ROPA 2009. The petitioner claims interest

on delayed payment of the revised gratuity and revised

arrear pension amount.

This 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 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 calculated on and the from 14.02.2010 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.)