Ira Koley vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors
2024 Latest Caselaw 4641 Cal

Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)

Ira Koley vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors on 10 September, 2024

Author: Amrita Sinha

Bench: Amrita Sinha

10.09.2024

Sl. No.17 BP

In The High Court At Calcutta Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction Appellate Side

WPA 20776 of 2023

Ira Koley

-versus The State of West Bengal & Ors.

Mr. Partha Chakraborty ... For the petitioner

Ms. Srijani Mukherjee ..for the State

Affidavit of service filed in Court today is taken on

record.

The issue to be decided in the present writ

petition is whether an employee will be entitled to

receive pension on and from the date following

retirement or from the date of refund of the employer's

share of contribution.

The husband of the petitioner retired from

service on attaining the age of superannuation on

28.02.1998 and died on 29.09.2022.

In response to the notification published by the

School Education Department being No. 79-

SE(L)/SL/5S-56/13 (Pt-V) dated 13th June, 2014

issued in compliance of the direction passed by the

Hon'ble Special Bench of this Court in the judgment

dated 16th July, 2013 in the matter of District Inspector

of Schools, (P.E.) Kolkata -vs- Abhijit Baidya the

husband of the petitioner exercised option to switch

over from CPF to GPF and claims to have refunded the

employer's share of contribution with interest and

additional interest on 05.09.2014.

Pension Payment Order was issued in favour of

the husband of the petitioner with effect form the date

of refund of the employer's share of contribution.

The petitioner claims that pension ought to have

been released on and from the next date of retirement

of the husband of the petitioner and not from the date

of refund of the employer's share of contribution.

A similar issue has been decided by this Court in

the matter of WPA No. 964 of 2022 (Sitala Mandal

(Chaudhuri)-vs- State of West Bengal & Ors.).

The judgment passed in the aforesaid matter on

8th February, 2022 will cover the present writ petition.

As the teacher died in the meantime,

accordingly, the revised pension payment order is

required to be issued in favour of the heir(s) of the

deceased employee.

The instant writ petition is disposed of by

directing the Director of Pension, Provident fund and

Group Insurance and the concerned Treasury Officer to

verify the records, and in the event, it is found, that the

husband of the petitioner exercised option and

refunded the employer's share of contribution within

the time specified in the notification dated 13th June,

2014, then steps shall be taken to issue Revised

Pension Payment Order in favour of the heirs of the

deceased teacher with effect from the date following the

date of retirement of the teacher on superannuation

and to release the pension in accordance with the

Revised Pension Payment Order. Such steps shall be

taken within a period of twelve weeks from the date of

communication of this order. Payment shall positively

be released immediately upon issuance of the Revised

Pension Payment Order.

The writ petition stands disposed of.

Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if

applied for, be given to the parties on completion of

usual formalities.

( Amrita Sinha, J.)