Rita Saha vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 4717 Cal

25.07.2022
rc/ct.no.13
Item No.469
                             WPA No. 11803 of 2022
                                    Rita Saha
                                      Versus
                         The State of West Bengal & Ors.


                    Mr. Sakti Pada Jana      ...for the petitioner

                    Mr. Somraj Dhar           ...for the State


                    Affidavit of service filed in Court today is kept

              with the 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's husband retired from service on

              attaining the age of superannuation on 31.08.2006.

                    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 claims to have refunded the employer's share

              of contribution with interest and additional interest on

              02.09.2014.
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      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 employee died on

13.01.2020.

      The petitioner claims that pension ought to have

been released in favour of her husband 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.

      The teacher died on 13.01.2020 and accordingly

the revised pension payment order is required to be

issued in favour of the widow of the deceased

employee.

      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

husband     of   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
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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.

      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.

(Rajasekhar Mantha,J)