RATAN KUMAR DAS Vs. STATE OF TRIPURA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner with the following reliefs:

(2.) As stated, the petitioner was appointed as Steno-Typist under the respondents in District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) vide Memorandum dtd. 16/1/1982 and after rendering service of 37 years, he went on superannuation on 31/12/2019 from the post of PS-IV. His last basic pay was Rs.83,010.00. His first grievance is that at the time of retirement, the Chief Executive Officer, DRDA, Gomati i.e. the D.M. and Collector, Gomati District issued approval and expenditure sanction of Rs.13,69,665.00 in his favour on the count of Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity but only Rs.10,00,000.00 was credited in his account stating that the said amount was only admissible as per notification of the Finance Department, Government of Tripura dtd. 11/7/2017, though vide notification dtd. 29/3/2018 the upper ceiling limit of gratuity was enhanced from Rs.10,00,000.00 to Rs.20,00,000.00 by the Central Government. According to him, Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972 is applicable in his case.

(3.) The second count of grievance of the petitioner is that the Finance Department concurred with the proposal of DRDA towards implementation of revised pay scale in terms of Tripura State Civil Services (Revised Pay) (1st Amendment) Rules, 2018 (for short-Revised Pay - 1st Amendment Rules of 2018) in respect of the staff working under the DRDA subject to the condition that the revision may be considered w.e.f. 1/10/2018 notionally and actual benefit may be given from 1/4/2020 and also the arrear may be paid, if fund is sufficient. As regards the decision on revision of gratuity and leave salary for these categories of employees, the same was decided to be taken at a later date on the basis of the flow of fund. According to the petitioner, such decision of the Finance Department was evident from a letter dtd. 5/3/2020 (Annexure-10 of the writ petition) of Director (Projects), DRDA, addressed to the Chief Executive Officers (D.M. and Collector) of all Districts, but the benefit of such pay matrix was denied to the petitioner though he retired on 31/12/2019 and refusal of such benefits was communicated to him vide letter dtd. 25/8/2021 (Annexure-12 of the writ petition) of Director (Projects), SLMC, RD, Government of Tripura on the ground that as he had retired on 31/12/2019, he was not entitled to any such financial benefit. According to the petitioner, he was entitled to both gratuity and leave salary in terms of said Revised Pay - 1st Amendment Rules of 2018.