Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Jyotsna Mahata vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors on 11 December, 2023
Author: Rajasekhar Mantha
Bench: Rajasekhar Mantha
11.12.2023.
Court No.13
Item No. 227
ap W.P.A. No. 25476 of 2023
Jyotsna Mahata
Versus
The State of West Bengal & Ors.
Mr. Sourav Mitra,
Mr. Dwarikanath Mukherjee,
Mr. Tulsi Das Maiti,
Ms. Sreyashree Choudhury.
...For the petitioner.
Mr. Tapan Kumar Mukherjee, AGP
Ms. Sangeeta Roy.
...For the State.
Mr. Ranjan Saha.
...For the DPSC, Paschim Medinipur.
1.
Affidavit-of-service filed in Court today be taken on
record.
2. The question that comes for consideration is as to
whether a widow of a teacher, who died on 8 th October,
1986 can exercise option or at all needs to exercise
option for pension under Death-cum-Retirement
Benefit of the State of West Bengal.
3. The right of an employee to pension and the right to
exercise option therefor has been decided by a Special
Bench of this Court in the case of District Inspector
of Schools (SE), Kolkata - Vs. - Abhijit Baidya
reported in (2013) 3 Calcutta High Court Notes 711.
4. The said decision came to be interpreted and
clarified again any another Full Bench decision as
regards the date from which the pension would be
payable i.e. from the date of retirement or from the
date of exercise of option. It was held by the second
Full Bench that pension would become payable from
the date of actual retirement.
5. A third question came up before another Division
Bench of this Court in R.V.W. No. 68 of 2016 (The
State of West Bengal & Ors. - Vs. - Smt. Jharna
Bhattacharya & Ors.). By a judgment and order dated
28th June, 2016, it was held that once an employee
had accepted to retire at the age of 60 and since
ROPA, 1990 automatically came to play, there was no
need for the employee to exercise any further option.
Such employee would automatically be covered under
the provisions of ROPA, 1990 and become entitled to
pension. In the said case, it was a widow whose case
was being considered after the death of the employee,
her husband.
6. While not specifically referring to Smt. Jharna
Bhattacharya's decision (supra), another Division
Bench of this Court, which I was part of, had held in
the case of The State of West Bengal & Ors. - Vs. -
Sefali Jana & Ors. (FMA 620 of 2018) on 24 th
August, 2023 that a widow is indeed entitled to
exercise option to switch over from CPF to GPF.
7. By applying the cases of Smt. Jharna
Bhattacharya (supra) and Sefali Jana (supra) and
in the context of the two Full Bench decisions in the
case of Abhijit Baidya (supra), this Court would have
ordinarily come to the conclusion that a widow of an
employee, who had agreed to retire at the age of 60,
would be entitled to family pension with or without
exercise of option. In the case of Smt. Jharna
Bhattacharya decision (supra) where the employee
had agreed to retire at the age of 60 and was due
eligible to the benefit of ROPA, 1990 (benefit
wherefrom was conferred from 1st April, 1986), the writ
petitioner herein would have been and is entitled to
pension.
8. Mr. Mukherjee, learned Senior Counsel appearing
for the State seeks time to examine the orders and also
obtain instructions from his clients. He relies upon a
decision of another Division Bench of this Court dated
15.01.2016 in MAT 2066 of 2014 (Renuka Khatun Vs.
State of West Bengal) that has held to the contrary.
9. Mr. Mitra, Counsel appearing for the petitioner
relies upon several other orders and decisions of the
Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group
Insurance, West Bengal to have permitted such option
exercise given by the widows. It is also argued that the
Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group
Insurance, West Bengal, by applying the principles
laid down in the case of Smt. Jharna Bhattacharya
decision (supra) also allowed pension to widows, even
without a formal exercise of option since their
husbands/employees agreed to retire at the age of 60.
10. Mr. Mitra shall furnish copies of all the orders to
Mr. Mukherjee, learned Senior Counsel for the State
and Mr. Ranjan Saha, Counsel appearing on behalf of
the District Primary School Council, Paschim
Medinipur.
11. List this matter on 19th December, 2023 as
heard-in-part at 10:30 A.M.
12. All parties are directed to act on a server copy of
this order duly downloaded from the official website of
this Court.
(Rajasekhar Mantha, J.)
