Susmita Das vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 4480 Cal

20.07.2022
Item No.465
Ct. No.13
CHC


                                W.P.A No. 11401 of 2022


                                    Susmita Das
                                         Vs.
                         The State of West Bengal & Ors.



              Mrs. Sabita Khutia (Bhunya)      ... for the petitioner.


              Mr. Somnath Naskar                 ... for the State.




                      Affidavit of service filed by the learned Advocate

              for the petitioner in Court today be kept on record.

                      The petitioner was teacher of a school, District-

              Nadia, who retired from service on 31.08.2018. The first

              pension payment order was issued on 14.12.2018. Under

              the ROPA Rules, 2019 there was revision of the pension

              and gratuity amount payable to the petitioner.           The

              revised pension payment order was issued on 28.01.2021

              and the revised gratuity amount was disbursed on

              02.02.2021 in terms of ROPA, 2019.          The petitioner

              claims interest on delayed payment of the principal

              gratuity and arrear pension amount and also revised

              arrear pension amount and revised gratuity amount.

                       There is a considerable delay in filing of the writ

              petition, which the petitioner seeks to justify by stating
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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

principal gratuity and arrear pension amount calculated

on and from 01.09.2018 till the date of payment and to

pay interest @ 8% per annum on the revised arrear

pension and revised gratuity 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.
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        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 shall 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.)