Monoranjan Mondal vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2023 Latest Caselaw 7791 Cal

Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)

Monoranjan Mondal vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors on 14 December, 2023

Author: Rajasekhar Mantha

Bench: Rajasekhar Mantha

14.12.2023
Court No.13
Item No. 318
AP
                              WPA 8335 of 2021

                            Monoranjan Mondal
                                     Vs.
                       The State of West Bengal & Ors.

               Mr. Uttam Kumar Roy
                                              ... ... for the Petitioner.



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

                  The petitioner was an Assistant Teacher of a
               High School, who retired on 31.03.2006. The first
               pension payment order was issued on 06.06.2006.
               Under the ROPA Rules, 2009 there was revision of
               the pensionary and gratuity amount payable to the
               petitioner. The revised pension payment order was
               issued on 27.03.2012 and the revised gratuity and
               revised arrear pension amount was disbursed on
               01.10.2012 in terms of ROPA, 2009. The petitioner
               claims interest on delayed payment of the revised
               gratuity and revised 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
                      2




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
petitioner @ 8% per annum on the revised gratuity
and revised arrear pension amount calculated on
and from 19.05.2009 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.)