Mangala Kundu vs M/S. Eastern Coal Fields Limited & ...
2023 Latest Caselaw 4092 Cal

  58.
4.7.2023
 S.D.
                                  W.P.A. 17225 of 2022

                                     Mangala Kundu
                                           Vs.
                         M/s. Eastern Coal Fields Limited & Ors.

                 Mr. Partha Ghosh
                 Mr. Amal Kumar Datta
                 Ms. Simran Sureka
                 Mr. Debashis Das
                 Mr. Rahul Agarwala
                                             ...For the petitioner.
                 Mr. Bijoy Kumar
                                             ... For the ECL

                 The issue in the writ petition is whether the Monthly

           Monetary Cash Compensation (MMCC) is payable to the

           petitioner from the date of such application or from the date

           of death of her husband.

                 Admittedly, the petitioner's husband died-in-harness

           on May 2, 2014 being an employee of Eastern Coalfields

           Limited (ECL). 'MMCC' has been granted to the petitioner

           with effect from 2016. The petitioner has prayed for grant of

           arrears of MMCC from May 2, 2014 till the date in June 2016

           from which 'MMCC' was actually disbursed to the petitioner

           in the present writ petition.

                 Mr. Ghosh, learned counsel appears in favour of the

           petitioner.
                         2




       Mr. Kumar, learned counsel appears in favour of the

ECL.

       Considering the submissions of the parties and the

materials placed on record, this Court is of the view that

MMCC has been granted to the petitioner from 2016 in terms

of the letter dated June 18, 2016.

       This Court relies on the decisions of the Hon'ble

Division Bench judgments reported in 2016 (3) WBLR (Cal)

464 (M/s. Eastern Coalfields Ltd. vs. Dewanti Kumari &

Ors.) and MAT 1006 of 2022 (M/s. Eastern Coalfields Ltd. vs.

Smt. Ambabati Mahali) to come to the finding that MMCC

should be paid from the date subsequent to the date of death

of the petitioner's husband. Therefore, the petitioner will be

entitled to arrears of MMCC from May 3, 2014 till such date

the MMCC was actually paid to the petitioner month by

month in 2016. Such arrears of MMCC shall be paid within

three months from the date of the order.

       This Court has not considered the issue of interest since

the respondents have started disbursing the MMCC to the

petitioner, within a short span of time from the date of the

application for 'MMCC' being made before the authorities.

Furthermore, since the petitioner has accepted MMCC

without any demur or protest in 2016 and has filed the writ

petition after 6 years in 2022, such prayer has not been

considered by this Court.

With the directions aforesaid, W.P.A. 17225 of 2022 is

disposed of.

All parties shall act on the server copy of this order

duly downloaded from the website of this Court.

Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied

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

formalities.

(Lapita Banerji, J.)