INDERJEET SINGH Vs. MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The petitioner, an Assistant Sub Inspector in the Railway Protection Special Force, has filed this petition (a) impugning the demand, contained in letter dtd. 22/5/2020, for recovery of Rs.8,85,371.00 from the petitioner on account of unauthorised retention of Railway quarter and to be realised from the petitioner by deduction from the salary of the petitioner w.e.f. May, 2020 at the rate of Rs.20,590.00 per month; and, (b) for a direction to the respondents Indian Railways to refund to the petitioner the amounts deducted from the salary of the petitioner w.e.f. May, 2020 onwards.

(2.) It is the case of the petitioner, that (i) on his transfer to Delhi in October, 2006, he was allotted a Type III quarter located at 215/A, TypeIII, 6th Battalion, Railway Protection Special Force, Dayabasti, Delhi; (ii) on 2/10/2015, the petitioner was transferred from Delhi to Gorakhpur and joined duty at Gorakhpur on 12/10/2015; (iii) at that time the petitioner's wife was undergoing treatment for asthma in Central Hospital, Delhi and the petitioner's son was pursuing graduation from Delhi; (iv) therefore the petitioner made a request for retention of the subject Railway quarter and was granted time till 17/6/2016 to vacate the same; (v) the petitioner, under the said permission, retained the said quarter from 1/12/2015 to 17/6/2016 and was paying double the license fee/rent therefor; (vi) the respondents Indian Railways, vide letter dtd. 18/5/2016 advised the petitioner to vacate the subject Railway quarter on or before 18/6/2016 and informed the petitioner that else, damage rent would be applied; (vii) however the treatment of the wife of the petitioner continued beyond 17/6/2016 and the son of the petitioner got admission in Indaprastha University of Delhi and was pursuing his Post Graduation at Delhi; the petitioner was thus not in a position to afford any other accommodation in Delhi and continued to retain the said quarter after 17/6/2016 also; (viii) a sum of Rs.11,597.00 was being deducted from the monthly salary of the petitioner on account of unauthorised occupation of the subject quarter, w.e.f. 18/6/2016; (ix) vide letter dtd. 13/4/2017, an amount of Rs.1,09,398.00 was also found to be recoverable from the petitioner for unauthorised occupation of the subject Railway quarter from 18/6/2016 to March, 2017 and the amount was directed to be recovered in 16 instalments from the petitioner's salary, besides the amount of Rs.11,597.00 being already deducted; (x) in July, 2018, a show cause notice and a final notice for vacation of the subject Railway quarter was issued to the petitioner but the petitioner still could not vacate the quarter and the amounts aforesaid continued to be deducted from the petitioner's salary; (xi) between 4/4/2018 and 14/8/2018, the Railway Board directed all its General Managers that revision of rate of damages for unauthorised occupation of Railway accommodation at telescopic penal charges will be applicable from 1/9/2018; (xii) however no information about this was communicated to the petitioner and the amount of Rs.11,597.00 continued to be deducted from the salary of the petitioner; (xiii) on 16/1/2020, a communication was sent to the Commanding Officer, Gorakhpur where the petitioner was posted, requesting to recover the sum of Rs.8,96,968.00 (i.e. the impugned amount), at the rate of Rs.20,590.00 per month besides a sum of Rs.92,829.50 paise per month, till the date of vacation of the Railway quarter, from the emoluments of the petitioner, on account of unauthorised retention of Railway quarter; (xiv) the petitioner immediately vacated the subject quarter and handed over possession thereof; (xv) on 5/2/2020, the petitioner applied for waiver of telescopic penal charges on the ground that the petitioner at Gorakhpur had not availed of any family residential premises or of House Rent Allowance (HRA) and on the contrary had been paying Rs.11,597.00 per month between 18/6/2016 till December, 2019 and the revised rate of damage rent/ telescopic penal charges were never brought to the notice of the petitioner and that from the conduct of the Indian Railways of continuing to deduct Rs.11,597.00 per month from his emoluments, the petitioner remained in the dark about the telescopic penal charges; (xvi) the impugned demand dtd. 22/5/2020 for recovery of Rs.8,85,371.00 aforesaid on account of unauthorised retention of Railway quarter, to be deducted from May, 2020 at the rate of Rs.20,590.00 per month was served on the petitioner; (xvii) had the petitioner been informed of telescopic penal charges earlier, he would have immediately vacated the quarter; and, (xviii) the petitioner earlier filed W.P.(C) No.3822/2020 but the same was dismissed with liberty to file afresh on the same cause of action.

(3.) The counsel for the petitioner has contended that the petitioner, prior to 16/1/2020 was not aware of telescopic penal charges and thus recovery thereof from the petitioner, for the period prior to the petitioner being made aware thereof, is retrospective in nature and bad for this reason alone.