Soma Chakraborty & Anr vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 4742 Cal

25.07.2022
rc/ct.no.13
Item No.430
                              WPA No. 11725 of 2022
                            Soma Chakraborty & Anr.
                                       Versus
                          The State of West Bengal & Ors.


                    Mr. Goutam Kr. Maity            ...for the petitioner




                    Affidavit of service filed in Court today is kept

              with the record.

                    The   petitioner's   husband    was   an   Assistant

              Teacher of a High School who died on 13.01.2021. The

              pension payment order was issued on 26.04.2022. He

              had completed all his pension related formalities prior

              to his retirement. However, the concerned authorities

              delayed the gratuity and arrear pensionary benefit

              amount ultimately released the same on 13.05.2022.

                    The petitioners herein seek interest to be paid on

              the arrear pension amount for the interim period of

              delay in receipt of the arrear pension amount. There is

              a considerable delay in filing the writ petition, which

              the petitioners seek to justify by stating that there is no

              statutory period of limitation and neither parties have

              suffered due to this delay and, therefore, the instant

              petition should be allowed.

                    The petitioners rely upon an order in WP No.

              17557(W) of 2017 (Narayan Chandra Saha vs. State of

              West Bengal & Ors.) wherein a Co-ordinate Bench had
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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 petitioners @8% per annum on the

revised gratuity and revised arrear pension amount

calculated on and from 13.01.2021 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.

(Rajasekhar Mantha,J)