Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Gopal Chandra Mandal vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors on 23 July, 2014
Author: Debasish Kar Gupta
Bench: Debasish Kar Gupta
1
srm 23.07.2014 W.P. No. 20998 (W) of 2014
Gopal Chandra Mandal
-vs-
The State of West Bengal & Ors.
Mrs. Sabita Khutia,
Mr. Sudip Sarkar
... for the Petitioner.
Mr. Asraf Mandal
... for the State.
Let the affidavit-of-service filed today be kept
with the record.
This writ petition is filed by the writ petitioner
for a direction upon the respondent authorities to pay
interest for belated payment of principal gratuity amount and pension as also the interest for revised gratuity amount and revised pension under West Bengal Non-Government Aided Educational Institutions Employees (Revisions of Pay and Allowances) Rules, 2009.
Having heard the learned Counsel appearing for the respective parties and also considering the facts and circumstances of the case, I find that the petitioner was an Assistant Teacher of Monglapota High School, District- Paschim Medinipur and the petitioner retired from the above service on February 28, 2011 on attaining the age of retirement on superannuation.
The first payment was made on May 23, 2012. The revised amount was released in favour of the petitioner on January 26, 2014.
The point of law, which is involved in this writ application, has already been settled by a judgment delivered by a Single Bench of this Court in W.P. 10750 (W) 2 of 2007 on July 9, 2008 in the matter of Abha Acharya -vs- State of West Bengal & Others. In the above case the petitioner was a primary school teacher and there was delay in releasing his gratuity money. Operative portion of the above decision is quoted below :
"Following the said Judgment and/or Order, I dispose of W.P. No. 1867 (W) of 2007 on 04.04.2008 and in other similar matters, I observed that since the issue was similar, the Order that I had passed in the said W.P. No. 1867 (W) of 2007 should govern those cases also.
However today when this huge pile of cases were heard, a submission was made which was not made in the cases before me referred to above, and which was to the effect that there cannot be any adjudication on the question as to who was responsible for delay in matters pertaining to payment of gratuity because the entitlement to gratuity is automatic and is to be paid on the very day the person retires. Even the learned Advocate General did not dispute this contention and very frankly and fairly stated that so far as the gratuity is concerned, it has to be paid on the date the person retires with the only exception that it can be withheld in cases where a departmental action is pending against the concerned employee."
On the basis of the above observation, direction was given to the respondent authority to pay interest on gratuity at the rate of 10% per annum on the principal gratuity amount as well as on revised gratuity paid under West Bengal Non-Government Aided Educational Institutions. I do not find any reason for disagreeing with the above decision.
Accordingly, I direct the respondent authority to give 9% interest per annum on the principal amount of gratuity and pension as well as on revised gratuity and revised pension money paid to the petitioner from the date when it was due and payable till the date of its actual payment. Such payment shall be made within 90 days from the date of communication of this order along with copy of this writ application upon the Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group Insurance, Government of West Bengal as also the concerned Treasury 3 Officer.
It is further made clear that failure on the part of the respondent authority to pay the aforesaid interest within the stipulated time, an additional interest at the rate of 2% per annum shall be paid to the petitioner.
It is necessary to point out that the rate of interest is fixed at 9% per annum taking into consideration the highest rate of interest payable by a nationalised bank on fixed deposit.
The writ petition, is, thus, disposed of. However, there will be no order as to costs.
Urgent photostat certified copy be supplied to the parties, if applied for, on priority basis.
(Debasish Kar Gupta, J.)