Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Bithi Sarkar vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors on 27 September, 2024
Author: Jay Sengupta
Bench: Jay Sengupta
HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION
Present:
THE HON'BLE JUSTICE JAY SENGUPTA
WPA 22382 of 2024
Bithi Sarkar
Versus
The State of West Bengal & Ors.
For the petitioner : Mr. Soumya Mukherjee
For the State : Mr. Swapan Kr. Dutta
Mr. Rajat Dutta
Heard on : 27.09.2024
Judgment on : 27.09.2024
JAY SENGUPTA, J:
This is an application, inter alia, praying for release of
House Rent Allowance, current and arrears, in favour of the
petitioner.
Affidavit of service filed on behalf of the petitioner is taken
on record.
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Supplementary affidavit filed on behalf of the petitioner is
also taken on record.
Copy of the same is handed over to the learned counsel for
the State.
Learned counsel appearing on behalf of the petitioner
submits as follows. The petitioner is an approved Assistant
Professor at Gandhi Centenary B.T. College, North 24 Parganas.
The husband of the petitioner being an employee of a private
company is receiving House Rent Allowance (HRA) as a separate
engagement. The District Inspector of Schools (S.E.), North 24-
Parganas, 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 petitioner. 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
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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
respondents denies the allegations made in the writ petition and
relies on the above referred memoranda. He further submits
that the communication annexed in the supplementary affidavit
pertains to CAS benefits and not HRA.
It appears that the above-referred memorandum of 2018
was quashed by a Coordinate Bench of this Court. However, an
appeal is 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 towards similarly
circumstanced Assistant Teacher.
In the present facts, I find no reason to take a different
view.
It is unfortunate that the respondent authorities are still
relying on the memorandum of 2018, which has been set aside
by this Court.
Therefore, the concerned respondent authorities is directed
to release the HRA, both current and arrear to the petitioner,
the arrear thereof be paid to the petitioner 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, without any
order as to costs.
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)
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