Insurance & Ors vs Smt. Kabita Sinha & Anr
2022 Latest Caselaw 3917 Cal

     23.
04.07.2022.
 Ct. No. 11.
    F.B.

                                 MAT 608 of 2021
                                       with
                               IA No. CAN 1 of 2021
                                       with
                               IA No. CAN 2 of 2021

               The Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group
                                Insurance & Ors.
                                      -Vs.-
                           Smt. Kabita Sinha & Anr.


                        Mr. Bhaskar Prasad Vaisya,
                        Mr. Suman Dey
                                  ..... For the Appellants/State.

                        Mr. Tarapada Das,
                        Mr. Chandan Dutta
                                  .....For the Respondent/

Writ Petitioner.

Re: IA No. CAN 1 of 2021

Party/Parties is/are represented in the order of

their name/names as printed above in the cause title.

Mr. Bhaskar Prasad Vaisya, Learned Additional

Government Pleader (AGP) assisted by Mr. Suman Dey,

Learned State Counsel, appears in support of the

appeal and also in support of IA No. CAN 1 of 2021,

which is an application for condonation of delay in

preferring the appeal.

The Respondent/Writ Petitioner is represented

by Mr. Tarapada Das, Learned Counsel with Mr.

Chandan Dutta, Learned Advocate.

Heard.

Perused the contents of IA No. CAN 1 of 2021.

Cause shown is found to be sufficient.

Accordingly, the delay stands condoned. The

appeal is formally treated to be on board.

IA No. CAN 1 of 2021 stands thus disposed of.

Re: MAT 608 of 2021 with IA No. CAN 2 of 2021.

This appeal is directed against the Judgement

and Order of the Hon'ble Single Bench dated 9 th of

December, 2019 in the writ petition, being W.P. No.

7741 (W) of 2018.

On behalf of the State Appellants, Mr. Bhaskar

Prasad Vaisya, Learned Additional Government Pleader

assisted by Mr. Suman Dey, Learned State Counsel,

produces a copy of an Order dated 6th of April, 2022 in

MAT 1518 of 2019 with IA No. CAN 2 of 2019 (Old No.

CAN 10437 of 2019) in the matter of the State of West

Bengal and Others -Vs.- Sabita Roy.

From the contents of the said Order dated 6 th of

April, 2022, it transpires that a similar issue which is

germane to this appeal and connected to pension

payable to widowed/unmarried daughters of the

deceased employees has been referred to a Larger

Bench in the light of conflict of decisions on the issue

amongst several Benches of this Court.

The relevant portion of the Order dated 6 th of

April, 2022 of the concurrent Hon'ble Division Bench

reads as follows:-

"What we noticed from the above that there

are conflicting judgments of the coordinate Benches

operating in the filed. The judicial discipline demands

that the issue raised before the earlier coordinate

Benches where the contrary view has been taken to

be resolved by the Larger Bench to achieve the

certainty and the uniformity in law, which is virtue.

We, thus, feel that the point, which is required to be

answered by the Larger Bench in view of the

conflicting decision is-

"Whether the benefit of family pension

can be extended to unmarried/widowed

daughter of an employee who superannuated

or died prior to coming in force of the Death-

cum-Retirement Benefit Scheme, 1981, which

came into effect on and from 1st April 1981."

Let this matter be placed before the Hon'ble

the Chief Justice for constituting a Larger Bench to

answer the reference as indicated above."

This Court have carefully considered the

materials placed and the issues raised in this appeal.

This Court is of the view that this appeal requires to be

also placed before the Hon'ble Larger Bench for a parity

of consideration.

MAT 608 of 2021 with IA No. CAN 2 of 2021

stand accordingly released for the above reasons.

In view of the order passed above, the operation

of the order impugned stands stayed till the

order/orders are passed by the Hon'ble Larger Bench.

All parties to act in terms of the copy of the

order downloaded from the official website of this Court.

(Lapita Banerji, J.) (Subrata Talukdar, J.)