Ashutosh Mondal vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 101 Cal

17.01.2022
Item No.11
Ct. No.5
 Aloke
                            W.P.A. 19599 of 2021
                           (Via Video Conference)
                             Ashutosh Mondal
                                     Vs.
                       The State of West Bengal & Ors.



                 Ms. Sabita Khutia
                                          ...for the petitioner
                 Ms. Tapati Samanta
                                          ...for the respondent no.4

Affidavit of service filed in Court is kept with the

record.

The material facts of the case are admitted and hence

I have not called for affidavits.

The petitioner was a librarian of a Library in the

district of Howrah and he retired on 30.04.2019. The

first pension payment order was issued on 08.11.2019.

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

17.10.2021 and the arrear pension and gratuity was

disbursed on 25.10.2021 in terms of ROPA, 2019. The

petitioner claims interest on delayed payment of the

revised arrear pension and revised gratuity.

I have heard learned counsel for both parties and I

have considered the orders passed by this Court in

similar facts. It is settled law that retired employee is

entitled to some amount of interest on delayed payment of

arrear pension and revised gratuity.

There is 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

WP 17557 (W) of 2017 (Narayan Chandra Saha V. State of

West Bengal & Ors.) wherein a coordinate 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 on

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 aforesaid, 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 writ petitioner at

the rate of 8% per annum on the revised arrear pension

and revised gratuity calculated on and from 1 st February,

2020 till actual date of payment. Such payment is to be

made within eight weeks from the date of communication

of the certified copy of this order to the concerned

authorities.

Since no affidavits have been invited, the allegations

contained in the writ petition are deemed not to have

been admitted by the respondents.

The writ petition is, accordingly, disposed of in terms

of prayer (a). There will be no order as to costs.

Urgent certified copy of this order, if applied for, be

made available to the parties upon compliance of the

requisite formalities.

(Moushumi Bhattacharya J.)