Sanghamitra Sarkar vs The State Of West Bengal And Others
2024 Latest Caselaw 5113 Cal

Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)

Sanghamitra Sarkar vs The State Of West Bengal And Others on 3 October, 2024

Author: Jay Sengupta

Bench: Jay Sengupta

                            HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA

                      CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION

Present:

THE HON'BLE JUSTICE JAY SENGUPTA



                                 WPA 24223 of 2024

                                 Sanghamitra Sarkar
                                        versus
                        The State of West Bengal and others


For the petitioner            Mr. Sandip Ganguly
                              Mr. Koushik Bhattacharyya


For the State                 Mr. Srijan Nayak
                              Ms. Rituparna Maitra


Heard on                      03.10.2024


Judgment on                   03.10.2024


JAY SENGUPTA, J:


                     This is an application, inter alia, praying for release of House

            Rent Allowance, current and arrears, in favour of the petitioner.


                     Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner submits as

            follows. The petitioner is an approved Assistant Professor in Education

            at Sarojini Naidu College for Women, Jessore Road, Kolkata.          The

            husband of the petitioner being an employee of private company is
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receiving House Rent Allowance (HRA) as a separate engagement.

The Deputy Secretary, Department of Higher Education, C.S. Branch

relying on the Memorandum of the Finance Department (Audit Branch),

Government of West Bengal bearing No.5839-F(P) dated July, 09,

2012 and the Corrigendum Memorandum thereto bearing No.8012-

F(p2)/FA/O/2m/ 206/17(N.B.) dated December 27, 2018, stopped the

payment of HRA to the petitioners. A Coordinate Bench of this Court by

the judgment dated March 16, 2021 passed in WPA 1389 of 2018

(Mousumi Biswas & Ors. State of West Bengal & Ors.) has quashed

the aforementioned Memorandum of 2018.             An appeal being MAT

1023 of 2021 (The State of West Bengal & Ors. vs. Mita Majumder &

Ors.) against the said judgment and order of the said Coordinate Bench

is pending. But, no order of stay has been passed in the said appeal.

Relying on this judgment, relief has been granted to a similarly

circumstanced Assistant Teacher by an order dated 21.05.2024 passed

in WPA 14006 of 2024. In view of the same, the petitioner would be

entitled to full HRA along with interest on the arrears.


      Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the State denies the

allegations made in the writ petition and submits that if, at all, any relief

is granted to the petitioner, the same has to be subject to the decision

of the appeal being MAT 1023 of 2021.


      It appears that the above-referred memorandum of 2018 was

quashed by a Coordinate Bench of this Court. However, an appeal is
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pending over the issue. But, no stay has been granted in the said

appeal.


      Relying on the said decision, another Coordinate Bench of this

Court has granted appropriate relief in favour of similarly circumstanced

Assistant Professor.


      In the present facts which are quite similar, I find no reason to

take a different view.


      Therefore, the concerned respondent authorities are directed to

release the HRA, both current and arrear in favour of the petitioners,

the arrear thereof be paid to the petitioners with interest @ 6% per

annum from the date on which it became payable till the date of

payment. Such payment shall be made within a period of six weeks

from the date of communication of this order.

It is, however, made clear that the payment of HRA in terms of

this order is subject to the result of the above referred pending appeal.

Accordingly, the writ petition is disposed of.

As affidavits were not called for, allegations contained in the

writ petition are deemed not to have been admitted.

Urgent photostat certified copy of this order may be supplied to

the parties expeditiously, if applied for.

( Jay Sengupta, J. )

63/SG