Someswar Dutta vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 4343 Cal

18.07.2022
  Sl. No. 514
    ap

                                    W.P.A. 15751 of 2021

                                        Someswar Dutta
                                               -Vs-
                                 The State of West Bengal & Ors.



                       Mr. Arun Khutia.
                                             ... ... for the petitioner


                       Affidavit of service filed in court today is kept with
                the record.

                       The petitioner was an 'Assistant Teacher' of a High
                School, who retired on 28.02.2017. The first pension
                payment order was issued on 19.01.2017. 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 11.06.2021 and the
                gratuity amount was disbursed on 01.07.2021 in terms of
                ROPA, 2019. The petitioner claims interest on delayed
                payment of the revised gratuity 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.

                       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
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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   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.)