Santi Ray vs The State Of West Bengal And Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 4647 Cal

22.07.2022 Court No.13 Item No.52 AP WPA 30405 of 2015

Santi Ray Vs.

The State of West Bengal and Ors.

Mr. Ashis Kumar Paul ... For the petitioner.

Mr. Rabindra Narayan Dutta Mr. Suprabhat Bhattacharjee ... For the State.

Affidavit of service filed in Court today is

taken on record.

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 31.12.2007.

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 18.08.2014 and 09.03.2015.

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 issue 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.

Accordingly, the writ petition is disposed of.

Urgent certified photo copy of this order, if

applied for, be supplied to the parties expeditiously

on compliance of usual legal formalities.

(Rajasekhar Mantha, J.)