_____________________________________________________________________ vs Himachal Pradesh State ...
2023 Latest Caselaw 16870 HP

    IN THE HIGH COURT OF HIMACHAL PRADESH, SHIMLA
                                    Civil Writ Petition No. 7957 of 2023




                                                                .
                                           Date of Decision: 19.10.2023





    _____________________________________________________________________
    Er. Arun Kumar                                                   ......Petitioner
                                              Versus





    Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited
                                                                   .......Respondent
    Coram





    Hon'ble Mr. Justice Sandeep Sharma, Judge.
    Whether approved for reporting?
    For the Petitioner:   Mr. Parkash Sharma, Advocate.
    For the respondents: Mr. Raj Pal Thakur, Advocate.

    ___________________________________________________________________________
    Sandeep Sharma, J. (Oral)

The petitioner, who has retired from the post of Senior

Executive Engineer (C/M) from the respondent/Board, has

approached this Court by way of present petition filed under Art. 226

of the Constitution of India, praying therein for the following main

relief(s):

"(i) That the respondent-Board may kindly be directed to release the amount of arrears of pay and pension, leave

encashment, commutation which became due as a result of revision of pay scales w.e.f. 1.1.2016 at once in one installment alongwith interest thereon @9% from the date it became due till the amount is actually paid;

(ii) That the respondent/Board may kindly be directed to release the differential amount of revised Gratuity as per Annexure P-3 immediately in one installment alongwith interest @ 9%."

2. Subsequent to his retirement/superannuation, office

order was issued revising the petitioner's pay scale with effect from

.

01.01.2016 in pursuance to Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board,

(Pay Revision) Regulations, 2022, circulated by the respondent vide

the Head Office Memorandum dated 12.04.2022. Consequently, the

petitioner became entitled to get arrears of revised pay with w.e.f.

01.01.2016 to 31.08.2017, but the same, according to the petitioner,

has not been paid to him till date. This fact has not been disputed by

learned counsel for the respondent.

3. That apart, pension, gratuity, leave encashment and

commutation of pension benefits payable to the petitioner are also

required to be revised as per Office Memorandum dated 12.04.2022,

issued by the Finance Department for revising the pension, gratuity

and leave encashment of pension of the retired employees after

01.01.2016. The petitioner alleges that this has also not been done.

4. However, learned Counsel for the petitioner has also

placed reliance on order dated 31.5.2023 of the Hon'ble Division

Bench of this Court in CWP No. 2108 of 2023. In the said judgment,

Hon'ble Division Bench has observed as under:-

"Having regard to the reasons assigned in the said order and since the case of the petitioner in the instant case is also on the similar footing, the instant writ petition is also allowed by directing the respondents to pay arrears of pay as per the revision of the pay scales w.e.f. 01.01.2016 to 30.11.2020 with

interest @ 6% per annum from the due date till the date of its realization as per Annexure P-2. A further direction is also issued to the respondents to revise the pension, gratuity (DCRG) and leave encashment, as per Annexure P2 and to pay

.

the same alongwith interest @ 6% per annum to the petitioner w.e.f. the due date i.e. 01.12.2020, till the date of its realization. Pending miscellaneous application(s), if any, also stand

disposed of accordingly."

5. Both learned counsel have agreed that this Court had

granted relief to similarly placed petitioners in CWP No.2108 of 2023

on 31.05.2023 and in CWP No.2421 of 2023 on 15.06.2023. Therefore,

this writ petition is allowed for reasons alike and the respondents are

directed to pay arrears of pay as per the revision of pay scales w.e.f.

01.01.2016 to 31.08.2017 with interest @ 6% per annum from the due

date till the date of its realization and they shall also revise the

pension, gratuity, leave encashment and commutation of pension and

pay the same alongwith interest @ 6% per annum to the petitioner

w.e.f. 01.01.2016 till the date of its realization, within a period of six

weeks from today.

All pending application(s), if any, also stands disposed of

October 19, 2023 (Sandeep Sharma), (shankar) Judge