The State Of West Bengal & Ors vs Sri Sachidulal Dana & Ors
2023 Latest Caselaw 7020 Cal

   D/L
Item No. 30
11.10.2023
 KOLE

                                MAT 1761 of 2023
                                    With
                                IA CAN 2 of 2023

                       The State of West Bengal & Ors.
                                   -Vs.-
                         Sri Sachidulal Dana & Ors.


              Mr. Rajarshi Basu,
              Mr. K. M. Hossain,
                                                         ... for the appellants.

              Mr. Malay Bhattacharyya,
                                    ... for the writ petitioner/respondent.

Mr. Samiran Mondal, Mr. A. Dan, Ms. M. Chakraborty, ... for the Municipality.

A judgment and order dated June 22, 2023, whereby

the writ petition of the respondent no. 1 herein being WPA

10896 of 2020 was allowed by a learned Single Judge of this

Court, is assailed in this appeal by the State of West Bengal.

We notice from the order impugned that the State was

not represented before the learned Single Judge on the day

the writ petition was disposed of in terms of the impugned

order. Hence, although we were initially minded to dismiss

the appeal on that ground alone leaving the State to pursue

any other remedy that it may have, we have finally decided to

hear out the appeal and the connected application.

The writ petitioner/respondent was appointed as a

contractual daily rated worker in Bankura Municipality with

effect from February 1, 2002. His service was regularized

with effect from December 30, 2008. He retired on

November 30, 2018 on his superannuation.

The pensionary benefits of the writ petitioner were

withheld by the concerned authorities on the ground that

there was a shortfall of 28 days in this service period. The

writ petitioner made representations to the effect that his

service should be counted from his initial appointment on

February 1, 2002, in which case there would be no shortfall

at all. This contention having been rejected the writ

petitioner approached the learned Single Judge.

The learned Judge by interpreting Rule IV of Chapter

III of the West Bengal Municipal (Employee's Death-cum-

Retirement Benefits) Rules, 2003, and by relying on the

Division Bench judgment in the case of Paran Chandra

Chatterjee rendered in WPST 127 of 2016, allowed the writ

petition. Hence, this appeal at the instance of the State.

Learned Advocate for the State argues that a

contractual daily rated worker cannot be considered to be a

temporary worker. He wishes to rely on authorities in

support of such proposition.

As requested, let the matter be listed once again on

November 13, 2023 for further hearing.

(Arijit Banerjee, J.)

(Apurba Sinha Ray, J.)