Punjab-Haryana High Court
Sharanjit Kaur vs State Of Punjab And Others on 3 September, 2024
Author: Harsimran Singh Sethi
Bench: Harsimran Singh Sethi
Neutral Citation No:=2024:PHHC:114666
231 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA
AT CHANDIGARH
CWP-36389-2019 (O&M)
Date of Decision : 03-09-2024
SHARANJIT KAUR ........Petitioner
VERSUS
STATE OF PUNJAB AND OTHERS ........Respondent(s)
CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE HARSIMRAN SINGH SETHI
Present: Mr. R.K. Arya, Advocate
for the petitioner.
Mr. Swapan Shorey, DAG Punjab assisted
by Ms. Parneet Kaur, Asstt. Director,
Department of Rural Development and Panchayats, Punjab.
***
HARSIMRAN SINGH SETHI, J. (Oral)
In the present petition, the grievance being raised by the
petitioner is that she has not been granted family pension despite being
entitled for the same under Punjab Civil Services Rules and law.
After notice of motion, learned counsel for the respondents on
instructions from Ms. Parneet Kaur, Asstt. Director, Department of Rural
Development and Panchayats, Punjab submits that vide PPO in July, 2023,
the petitioner has been allowed the grant of family pension from the date of
her entitlement, and all the arrears have also been released to her and
therefore, the present petition has been rendered infructuous.
It may be noticed that the present petition was filed in the year
2019 claiming the family pension from the year 2014. Once, the respondents
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have already granted the said benefit on their own, it makes it clear that there
was no impediment in the release of the family pension of the petitioner
from the year 2014 onwards, which was only released after a period of 9
years of the entitlement of the petitioner.
Nothing has come on record as to why it took 9 years to decide
the claim of the petitioner to grant her family pension.
As per the settled principle of law laid down by the Full Bench
of this Court in A.S. Randhawa Vs. State of Punjab and others, 1997(3)
SCT 468, it has been held that where there is an inordinate delay in the
release of the family pension of an employee and the delay is not justifiable,
employee will be entitled for interest. The relevant paragraph of said
judgment is as under:-
"Since a government employee on his retirement
becomes immediately entitled to pension and other benefits in
terms of the Pension Rules, a duty is simultaneously cast on the
State to ensure the disbursement of pension and other benefits
to the retirer in proper time. As to what is proper time will
depend on the facts and circumstances of each case but
normally it would not exceed two months front the date of
retirement which time limit has been laid down by the Apex
Court in M. Padmanabhan Nair's case (supra). If the State
commits any default in the performance of its duty thereby
denying to the retiree the benefit of the immediate use of his
money, there is no gainsaying the fact that he gets a right to be
compensated and, in our opinion, the only way to compensate
him is to pay him interest for the period of delay on the amount
as was due to him on the date of his retirement."
Apart from this, a Coordinate Bench of this Court in J.S.
Cheema Vs. State of Haryana, 2014(13) RCR (Civil) 355, had held that an
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employee will be entitled for the interest on an amount which has been
retained by the respondents without any valid justification. The relevant
paragraph of J.S. Cheema's case (supra) is as under: -
"The jurisprudential basis for grant of interest is the fact
that one person's money has been used by somebody else. It is
in that sense rent for the usage of money. If the user is
compounded by any negligence on the part of the person with
whom the money is lying it may result in higher rate because
then it can also include the component of damages (in the form
of interest). In the circumstances, even if there is no negligence
on the part of the State it cannot be denied that money which
rightly belonged to the petitioner was in the custody of the State
and was being used by it."
Keeping in view of the above, the petitioner is also entitled for
interest @ 6% per annum on the arrears, which have been made admissible
to the petitioner on account of grant of family pension from the year 2014.
The said interest will be paid from the date the petitioner became entitled for
the release of the family pension till the actual payment of the same.
Let the interest for which the petitioner was entitled for under
this order be calculated and released to the petitioner within a period of 4
weeks from the receipt of copy of this order.
Present petition is disposed of in above terms.
Pending application, if any, also stands disposed of.
03-09-2024 (HARSIMRAN SINGH SETHI)
Sapna Goyal
JUDGE
NOTE: Whether speaking: : YES/NO
Whether reportable: YES/NO
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