Shila Chowdhuri (Gupta) vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 4718 Cal

25.07.2022
rc/ct.no.13
Item No.462
                             WPA No. 11790 of 2022
                            Shila Chowdhuri (Gupta)
                                      Versus
                         The State of West Bengal & Ors.


                    Mr. Ashis Kumar Paul             ...for the petitioner

                    Mr. Somnath Naskar               ...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 retired from service on attaining

              the age of superannuation on 31.01.2007.

                    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 claims to have refunded the employer's share

              of contribution with interest and additional interest on

              27.08.2014 and 03.02.2015.
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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 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
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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)