Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Ct. 25 Anita Purkait vs The State West Bengal & Ors on 2 January, 2020
Author: Rajarshi Bharadwaj
Bench: Rajarshi Bharadwaj
1 1074 02.01.2020
. W.P. 16424 (W) of 2019
ab
Ct. 25 Anita Purkait Vs The State West Bengal & Ors.
Mr. Sudipta Maiti
... For the Petitioner.
Mr. Tarun Kumar Sur
... For the State.
Affidavit of service filed in Court today is kept with the record. The husband of the petitioner was a Head Master of a High School, who retired from service on September 30, 2000 and died on May 16. 2017. He had completed all pension-related formalities. The pension payment order was issued on December 11,2014. However, the concerned authorities delayed in releasing the arrear pension amount on February 17, 2015. The petitioner herein seeks interest to be paid on the arrear pension amount for the interim period of delay.
There is a considerable delay in filing of the writ petition, which the petitioner seeks to justify by stating that there is no statutory period of limitation and neither parties have suffered due to this delay. It is the submission of the petitioner that accordingly the petition should be allowed.
The petitioner relies upon an order in W.P. No. 17557 (W) of 2017 (Narayan Chandra Saha Vs. State 2 of West Bengal & Ors.) wherein a co-ordinate Bench of this court had relied upon a Supreme Court judgement in the case of Union of India Vs. Tarsem Singh, reported in (2008) 8 S.C.C. 648 on the issue of limitation relating to payment or re-fixation of pay or pension wherein the Apex Court had held that relief may be granted in spite of delay as it does not affect the rights of the third party.
In view of the above and after hearing the learned Counsel for the petitioner, I direct the Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group Insurance, Government of West Bengal as also the concerned Treasury Officer to pay interest to the petitioner @ 8% per annum on the arrear pension amount calculated from October 01, 2000 till the date of payment. Such payment is to be made within a period of eight weeks from the date of communication of this order.
The writ petition is accordingly disposed of without, however, any order as to costs.
Urgent certified website copy of this order, if applied for, be made available to the parties upon compliance with the requisite formalities.
(Rajarshi Bharadwaj, J.)