Sunil Kumar Khan vs The Durgapur Projects Limited & ...
2022 Latest Caselaw 1395 Cal

     35
22.03.2022
 Ct. No.23
     pg.
                        IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
                       CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION
                                APPELLATE SIDE

                                  WPA 3879 of 2022

                                 Sunil Kumar Khan
                                        Vs.
                         The Durgapur Projects Limited & Ors.


                       Mr. Siddhartha Sarkar
                                  ... For the petitioner
                       Mr. Sujit Shankar Koley
                                   ... For the respondents

Affidavit of service filed in Court today is taken on

record.

The petitioner is a retired employee of Durgapur

Projects Limited (in short "DPL"), the respondent no.1, who

retired from services on 31st January, 2014. The petitioner

is claiming interest on delayed payment of gratuity and

leave salary. The petitioner on his retirement was entitled

to payment of gratuity and an amount on account of leave

salary aggregating to Rs.8,42,104/-. This figure is not in

dispute. The petitioner was paid this amount on 16th

August, 2014. The date of payment is also not in dispute.

The petitioner says that there has been a delay of about 6

months in making of the said sum of Rs. 8,42,104//- on

account of gratuity and leave salary. The petitioner,

therefor, was entitled to interest for delayed payment of

gratuity as per the provisions of Section 7(3A) of the

Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 (hereinafter referred to as

the "said Act") and interest on the same rate on leave

salary since the same is part of the retiral benefits.

The petitioner's cause to claim the principal sum

has accrued for the first time after his retirement on 31st

January, 2014. On the payment of the principal sum the

petitioner's cause to claim interest accrued on 16th August,

2014. The wrongful act that caused an injury was

complete on 16th August, 2014. There is no continuing

wrong even though the damage resulting from the act may

continue. The injury caused by the wrongful act does not

continue. Thus, there is no continuous cause to enable

filing of the writ petition after eight years, the writ petition

having been filed only on 2nd March, 2022. There is, as

such, a long delay in filing the writ petition which

disentitles the petitioner from claiming interest.

Although, the issues relating to claim of interest for

delayed payment as in the instant writ petition are

squarely covered by a recent judgment and order of this

Court dated 9th August, 2021 passed in WPA 11485 of

2021 (Kajal Pal v. The Durgapur Projects Ltd. & Ors.), but

the enormous delay in approaching the Court, however,

disentitles the petitioner from claiming interest. Nothing

has been pleaded to show that the petitioner's claim is a

continuing cause. In absence of the same the writ petition

is liable to be dismissed for long delay and laches on the

part of the petitioner in view of the ratio laid down in 2008

(8) SCC 648 (Union of India And Others vs. Tarsem Singh)

and 2016 (13) SCC 797 (Asger Ibrahim Amin vs. Life

Insurance Corporation of India) which according to me is

applicable in this case.

The writ petition is dismissed. There shall be no

order as to costs.

Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if

applied for, be given to the parties, upon compliance of

necessary formalities.

(Arindam Mukherjee, J.)