Hemlata Barla vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 437 Cal

09.02.2022

(P.M) WPA 28582 of 2015

Hemlata Barla Vs The State of West Bengal & Ors.

(Via Video Conference)

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

Mr. Tapas Kumar Adhikari, Ms. Anima Chakraborty ... 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 retired from service on attaining

the age of superannuation on 31st October, 2008.

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 exercised option to switch over

from CPF to GPF and refunded the employer's share

of contribution with interest and additional interest

on 22nd August, 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 on and from the next date of

retirement and not from the date of refund of the

employer's share of contribution.

A similar issued 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.

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.

Affidavit of service kept with the record.

WPA 28582 of 2015 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.)