Anil Kumar Pandit Vs the State of West Bengal and Ors. — Calcutta HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

Anil Kumar Pandit Vs the State of West Bengal and Ors. — Calcutta HC (2025) — LawSathi Research

What the court decided

AI extract

Outcome

Petitioner permitted to refund the Government's share of provident fund contribution (with interest and additional interest) to avail pension; District Inspector of Schools (P.E.), Bankura to calculate the refund amount and, upon deposit, verify the pension papers as pension sanctioning authority and send them to the Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group Insurance, Government of West Bengal for issuance of the Pension Payment Order; pension payable from the date of superannuation (31.08.2023); respondents to act expeditiously; disposed without any order as to costs.

Issue for consideration

Whether the petitioner, a retired Head Teacher who had exercised option to come under ROPA, 1990, may avail the benefit of pension by refunding the Government's share of contribution in his provident fund account with interest and additional interest. +1 more

Court's answer

To avail the benefit of pension, the petitioner is obliged to refund the Government's share of contribution in his provident fund account; the District Inspector of Schools (P.E.), Bankura (respondent no. 4) is directed to calculate the amount required to be refunded.

Ratio / Principle

Proceeding on the submission that the petitioner, having exercised option to come under ROPA, 1990 in terms of the Division Bench judgment dated July 26, 2023 in MAT 146 of 2019, need not exercise a fresh option, the Court directed that the petitioner refund the Government's share of provident fund contribution as the requisite step for obtaining the benefit of pension.

Key takeaways

Upon deposit of the refund amount, the District Inspector of Schools (P.E.), Bankura, being the pension sanctioning authority, shall verify the petitioner's pension papers and send them to the Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group Insurance, Government of West Bengal (respondent no. 3) for further steps in accordance with law for issuance of the Pension Payment Order in favour of the petitioner.ratio¶15
The respondent nos. 4 and 3 shall complete their respective drills in this regard as expeditiously as possible.ratio¶16
The pension shall be paid to the petitioner on and from the date of his superannuation (31.08.2023).

Detailed headnote1 paragraphs

WPA 16860 of 2024 (decided 16.09.2025) — Rajarshi Bharadwaj, J. Anil Kumar Pandit, Head Teacher in a Primary School, retired on superannuation on 31.08.2023 and prayed for permission to refund the Government's share of contribution in his provident fund account, with interest and additional interest, to avail the benefit of pension. Counsel submitted, and the Court proceeded on the basis, that having exercised option to come under ROPA, 1990 in terms of the Division Bench judgment dated July 26, 2023 in MAT 146 of 2019 (The State of West Bengal & Ors. Vs. Muktimoyee Pal (Dey) & Ors.), the petitioner need not exercise a fresh option but is obliged to refund the Government's share of provident fund contribution to obtain pension. The District Inspector of Schools (P.E.), Bankura (respondent no. 4) was directed to calculate the refund amount and, upon deposit, to verify the pension papers as pension sanctioning authority and send them to the Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group Insurance, Government of West Bengal (respondent no. 3) for issuance of the Pension Payment Order; pension is payable on and from the date of superannuation; both respondents to complete their respective drills expeditiously. WPA 16860 of 2024 disposed of with these terms without any order as to costs.

6 16.09.2025 SM Court No.759

WPA 16860 of 2024

Anil Kumar Pandit

Vs The State of West Bengal & Ors.

Mr. Kalyan Kumar Panda Mr. Sasthi Charan Dhara Ms. Ankita Mukherjee

… for the petitioner

Ms. Devangana Dey Nayak

… for the State

Affidavit of service filed on behalf of the petitioner be kept with the record.

The petitioner was a Head Teacher in a Primary School, on attaining the age of superannuation he has retired from service on 31.08.2023.

The petitioner is praying permission to refund the Government’s share of contribution in his provident fund account with interest and additional interest to avail the benefit of pension.

Mr. Kalyan Kumar Panda, learned advocate for the petitioner submits that the petitioner since has exercised option to come under ROPA, 1990 in terms of the judgment dated July 26, 2023 passed by the Hon’ble Division Bench of this Court in MAT 146 of 2019 (The State of West Bengal & Ors. Vs. Muktimoyee

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Pal (Dey) & Ors.), need not exercise a fresh option, but to get the benefit of pension, is obliged to refund the Government’s share of contribution in his provident fund account.

The District Inspector of Schools (P.E.), Bankura, the respondent no. 4 herein is therefore directed to calculate the amount required to be refunded by the petitioner to get the benefit of pension and upon deposit of the said amount, the said respondent, being the pension sanctioning authority shall verify the pension papers of the petitioner and shall send the same to the Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group Insurance, Government of West Bengal, the respondent no.3 herein for further steps to be taken in accordance with law for issuance of the Pension Payment Order in favour of the petitioner.

The respondent nos. 4 & 3 shall complete their respective drills in this regard as expeditiously as possible.

The pension shall be paid to the petitioner on and from the date of superannuation of the petitioner.

WPA 16860 of 2024 is disposed of with the above terms without any order as to costs.

All parties to act on the server copy of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this Court.

Urgent Photostat certified copy of this order, if

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applied for, be supplied to the parties, subject to compliance of all requisite formalities.

(Rajarshi Bharadwaj, J.)