Ashoke Kr. Pramanick vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2022 Latest Caselaw 1465 Cal

   Ct. 05
Item No.11
24.03.2022
(sayandeep)



                             WPA 21034 of 2021

                             Ashoke Kr. Pramanick
                                      Vs.
                        The State of West Bengal & Ors.


                      Ms. Sima Ghosh
                                                .........for the petitioner

                      Mr. Tapan Kr. Mukherjee
                      Mr. Rajat dutta
                                                   ...........for the State


                      Affidavit of service filed in court is kept

              with the record.

                       The material facts of the case are admitted

              and hence I have not called for affidavits.

                       The petitioner was a librarian of a Library

              of Ahmadpur Joy Durga High School in the district

              of   Birbhum    under      West     Bengal   Board   of

              Secondary Education and he retired on 31.

              01.2017. Under the ROPA Rules, 2009 there was

              revision of the pensionary and gratuity amount

              payable to the petitioner.    The pension payment

              order was issued on 27.07.2021 and gratuity was

              disbursed on 17.08.2021 in terms of ROPA, 2019.

              The petitioner claims interest on delayed payment

              of the revised gratuity.

                       I have heard learned counsel for both

              parties and have considered the orders passed by
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this court in similar facts.   It is settled law that

retired employee is entitled to some amount of

interest on delayed revised gratuity.

         There is 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   WP

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

of West Bengal & Ors.) wherein a coordinate 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 on 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 aforesaid, I direct the

Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group

Insurance, Finance Department, Government of

West Bengal as also the concerned Treasury

Officer to pay interest to the writ petitioner at the

rate of 8% percent per annum on the gratuity

calculated on and from 1st February, 2017 till

actual date of payment.      Such payment is to be
                      3




made   within   eight       weeks      from   the   date    of

communication of the certified copy of this order to

be concerned authorities.

         Since no affidavits have been invited, the

allegations contained in the writ petition are

deemed    not   to       have   been    admitted    by     the

respondents.

Mr. Tapan Kr. Mukherjee is present in

Court today and informs the Court that the copy of

the order shall be communicated to the State

respondent for necessary action.

The writ petition is, accordingly, disposed

of. There will be no order as to costs.

Urgent certified copy of this order, if

applied for, be made available to the parties upon

compliance of the requisite formalities.

(Moushumi Bhattacharya, J.)