Swastika Sukul vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 3309 Cal

14.06.2022
 Sl. No.190
   ap

                                 W.P.A. 14969 of 2021

                                        Swastika Sukul
                                              -Vs-
                                The State of West Bengal & Ors.



                     Mr. Sandip Ghosh.
                                            ... ... for the petitioner


                     Affidavit of service filed in court today is kept with
              the record.

                     The petitioner's husband was a High School
              Teacher died on 15.01.2019. The Pension Payment Order
              was issued on 27.11.2020. 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 21.01.2021.


                     The petitioner herein seeks 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 of the writ petition, which the
              petitioner seeks to justify by stating 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
                                2




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
revised gratuity and revised arrear pension calculated on
and from 16.01.2019 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, on priority basis.

(Rajasekhar Mantha, J.)