Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Ks Swapan Ghosh vs C.E.O on 9 April, 2015
Author: Sanjib Banerjee
Bench: Sanjib Banerjee
1 201 9.4.2015
W.P.17020 (W) of 2014 62 ks Swapan Ghosh
-Vs-
C.E.O., KMDA & Ors.
Ms. Santi Das, Mr. Shubha Dey ... for the Petitioner.
Mr. P.S. Basu, Mr. Fazlul Haque ... for the KMDA.
The petitioner has been paid an amount of Rs.34,86,304/- on account of leave salary, GPF subscription with interest, arrears pension, commuted value of pension and gratuity.
It is submitted on behalf of the Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority that the petitioner has been paid more than what was due to the petitioner by reason of the mistake on the part of the employer in continuing to deduct the GPF subscription from his monthly salary. The employer also demonstrates that the GPF subscription has been paid to the petitioner with interest. KMDA says that since a substantial amount has been released to the petitioner and the petitioner has been given additional benefits only on account of the mistake committed by the employer, no further interest should be awarded.
The petitioner has disputed the submission on behalf of the employer and claims that the money that has been paid is what was due to the petitioner. The petitioner insists that for the delayed payment of the retiral benefits some three years after his superannuation, the petitioner is entitled to substantial interest.
Since it is evident that KMDA has suffered on account of the mistake on its part and since the payment has been released pursuant to a previous observation of the court without undue delay, the petitioner is awarded interest only for the delayed payment of gratuity reckoned from a month after his superannuation till the month preceding the one in which the payment was made.
Accordingly, W.P.17020(W) of 2014 is disposed of by recording that the entire principal payment due to the petitioner has been made and by awarding interest to the petitioner at the rate of 6% per annum on the outstanding amount of gratuity of Rs.5,83,525/- from the month of August, 2012 till the month of February, 2015. The amount on account of interest in terms of this order should be paid off to the petitioner within a period of three months from date.
There will be no order as to costs.
Certified website copies of the order, if applied for, be urgently made available to the parties, subject to compliance with all requisite formalities.
2( Sanjib Banerjee, J.)