Patna High Court
Rita Devi vs The State Of Bihar on 18 August, 2023
IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA
Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.7001 of 2023
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Rita Devi, W/O Late Ram Sobhit Paswan R/o Village- Goriyara, P.S.- Karja,
District-Muzaffarpur.
... ... Petitioner
Versus
1. The State of Bihar through the Secretary, Department of Panchayati Raj,
Govt. of Bihar, Patna.
2. Secretary, Department of Panchayati Raj, Govt. of Bihar, Patna.
3. District Magistrate, Muzaffarpur.
4. District Panchayati Raj Officer, Muzaffarpur
5. Block Development Officer, Gayghat, Muzaffarpur.
6. Office of the Accountant General, Bihar, Patna through its Secretary.
7. Secretary, Office of the Accountant General, Bihar, Patna.
8. District Accounts Officer, Muzaffarpur
... ... Respondent/s
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Appearance :
For the Petitioner/s : Mr. Shankar Kumar Thakur, Advocate
Mr.Sanjeev Kumar Mishra, Advocate
For A.G. : Mr. Binod Kumar Labh, SC (A.A & AD)
For the State : Mr. Anwar Karim, AC to G.P-10
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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE PURNENDU SINGH
ORAL JUDGMENT
Date : 18-08-2023
Heard Mr. Shankar Kumar Thakur, learned counsel
appearing on behalf of the petitioner; Mr. Binod Kumar Labh,
learned counsel appearing on behalf of Accountant General and
Mr. Anwar Karim, learned AC to G.P.-10 for the State.
2. In the present writ petition, the petitioner has
prayed for following reliefs:
"(i) For direction to District
Magistrate, Muzaffarpur to grant arrears of
pension of the petitioner's deceased
husband to the petitioner from 01.03.1997
to 23.07.1999 along with statutory interest,
Patna High Court CWJC No.7001 of 2023 dt.18-08-2023
who superannuated from the post of
Panchayat Secretary on 28.02.1997 while
working in the Gayghat Block of
Muzaffarpur district.
(ii) For direction to the District
Magistrate, Muzaffarpur to grant arrears of
family pension to the petitioner from
24.07.1999 to till date along with statutory
interest and onwards following death of her
husband on 23.07.1999 after
superannuation from the post of Panchayat
Secretary in the Gayghat Block of
Muzaffarpur district."
3. Learned counsel appearing on behalf of
petitioner seeks to file a detailed representation before the Block
Development Officer, Gayghat, Muzaffarpur. Learned counsel
for the petitioner submitted that the case of the petitioner is
squarely covered by a decision of this Court passed in case of
Raj Kishore Sinha vs. State of Bihar and ors reported in
(2023) 4 PLJR 560.
4. Considering the above submission made on
behalf of the petitioner and the fact that petitioner has restricted
his prayer for getting his grievance redressed by the B.D.O.,
Gayghat, Muzaffarpur, the petitioner, if so advised, may file a
detailed representation before the Block Development Officer,
Gayghat, Muzaffarpur along with the relevant documents and
evidences as well as the law laid down by this Court as well as
Apex Court for redressal of grievance of the petitioner. The
Patna High Court CWJC No.7001 of 2023 dt.18-08-2023
Block Development Officer, Gayghat, Muzaffarpur is directed
to pass a reasoned order on the representation filed on behalf of
the petitioner and take appropriate steps to make payment of
retiral dues including the pension due to the deceased employee
and family pension of the petitioner within a period of six weeks
from the date of filing of the representation.
5. It goes without saying that on account of delay in
making payment of retiral dues, the petitioner is entitled for
interest at the rate of 12.5% in the light of the law laid down by
the Apex Court in the case of State of Kerala v. M.
Padmanabhan Nair reported in (1985) 1 SCC 429 and D.D.
Tewari v. Uttar Haryana Bijli reported in (2014) 8 SCC 894.
6. With the above observations and directions, the
present writ petition stands disposed of.
(Purnendu Singh, J)
manish/-Minu
AFR/NAFR NAFR
CAV DATE NA
Uploading Date 21.08.2023
Transmission Date
