The court allowed a writ petition filed by a retired assistant teacher seeking interest on delayed payment of revised gratuity and arrear pension under ROPA 2019.
Directing respondents to pay interest @ 8% p.a. plus 2% default interest from February 14, 2020, until payment within 12 weeks.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
20.01.2023 Item No.85 Court No.18 P.Jana.
W.P.A. 28118 of 2022 Bikas Chandra Samanta
-Vs-
The State of West Bengal & Ors. Mr. Krishna Pada Santra, ……for the petitioner. Ms. Rupsha Chakraborty,
… for the State.
Affidavit-of-service filed by the learned advocate
for the petitioner be kept with the record.
The petitioner was an approved Assistant Teacher of a secondary school and retired from his said service on superannuation on February 29, 2016.
The first pension payment order of the petitioner was issued on January 22, 2016.
Under the ROPA Rules, 2019, there was revision of the pension, gratuity and computation of pension of the pensioners vide Memorandum of the Government of West Bengal bearing No. 53/ES/P/P&B/10M-99/2019 dated February 14, 2020 and the revised pension payment order of the petitioner under ROPA, 2019 was issued on September 27, 2021, in terms of the said revised pension payment order, the petitioner received the arrear pension and gratuity on September 29, 2021.
The petitioner in the instant writ petition is claiming that he is entitled to interest for the delayed payment of the said gratuity and arrear pension and is praying issuance of writ of mandamus commanding the Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group Insurance and the concerned Treasury Officer, the respondents herein, to pay such interest.
2
Learned advocate for the State-respondents does not oppose the prayer of the petitioner.
It is now well settled that the petitioner is entitled to the interest, as prayed for.
The aforementioned respondents are, therefore directed to pay interest on the revised gratuity and arrear pension @ 8% per annum from the date of notification of the aforesaid Government order i.e. February 14, 2020 till the date of payment of revised gratuity and arrear pension in terms of the said revised Pension payment order.
The payment, as aforesaid, shall be made within a period of twelve weeks from the date of communication of this order, in default, the said arrears amount shall fetch an additional interest of 2% per annum.
W.P.A. 28118 of 2022 stands disposed of with the above directions. There shall be no order as to costs.
Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties subject to compliance with all requisite formalities.
(Biswajit Basu, J.)
3 issues framed by the court
Whether a retired teacher is entitled to interest on delayed payment of revised gratuity and arrear pension.
What rate of interest should be payable from the date of the government notification.
What direction should be issued to the respondents for payment within a specific time limit.
1 provisions across 1 enactments
Bikas Chandra Samanta
The State of West Bengal
Biswajit Basu
As recorded by the court registry
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
