K.P. SARASWATHI AMMA Vs. STATE OF KERALA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE petitioner retired as a Principal of N.S.S. College, Nenmara on 31.3.2011. She held the post of Principal in the said college during the period from 15.6.2009 till the date of her retirement on 31.3.2011. Subsequent to her retirement, when the payment of Death -cum -Retirement Gratuity was made to her it was noticed that an amount of Rs. 2,15,411/ - was withheld therefrom allegedly on the ground that a liability to the said extent was fixed on her in connection with non -recovery of fine from staff and students of the college who had availed loans of books from the libraries attached to the college. Ext. P2 is the liability certificate that is relied upon by respondents 1 to 3 for the purposes of withholding the amounts from the Death -cum -Retirement Gratuity payable to the petitioner. The facts stated in the writ petition would reveal that the audit, that was conducted in the college while fixing the liability on the petitioner, was during the period from 6.6.2011 to 17.6.2011, much after the petitioner had retired from the post of Principal of the college. No doubt, the audit that was conducted pertained to the period from 1.6.2009 to 31.5.2011 but the actual conduct of audit was only on the dates mentioned above. Ext. P3, which is the audit report, would also indicate that the persons who had occupied the post of Principal during the period covered by the audit, were four in number and the petitioner was only one among them and she was Principal for the period from 15.6.2009 to 31.3.2011.

(2.) AGGRIEVED by the action of the respondents in withholding the amounts from the Death -cum -Retirement Gratuity that is payable to her, the petitioner took up the matter with the respondents and that eventually led to the passing of Ext. P8 order by the second respondent whereby the second respondent reduced an amount of Rs. 71,100/ - from the total amounts withheld from the Death -cum -Retirement Gratuity payable to the petitioner. This reduction from the amount withheld was on account of the fact that, subsequently, there were recoveries effected from the staff of the college which was made over to the department and hence the benefit of this recovery was passed on to the petitioner. The petitioner, however, was aggrieved by the withholding of the balance amount of Rs. 1,44,311/ - from the Death -cum -Retirement Gratuity amount that was due to her and it is under these circumstances that she approached this Court through the present writ petition.

(3.) I have heard Sri. B. Unnikrishna Kaimal, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner, the learned Government Pleader appearing on behalf of respondents 1 to 3 and the learned counsel appearing on behalf of the fourth respondent Principal of the college.