RAJENDRA NATH BISWAS Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ application has been preferred against the decision of the West Bengal Administrative Tribunal in Original Application No. 736 of 2011. By the order impugned in this writ application, the tribunal has dismissed the original application on the ground that the petitioner was not entitled to any interest on the deducted amount from the commuted value of pension or for non-payment of gratuity immediately after his retirement.

(2.) The present litigation has a chequered history. The writ petitioner was appointed as a painter and had been working as such from June 1, 1973. He was paid a certain pay scale, which continued to be paid to him till he retired on April 30, 2002. However, he was not paid either his gratuity or pension immediately after his retirement. Instead, his pay was recast and refuted by an order dated May 8, 2003. A subsequent order was passed on May 27, 2003 re-fixing further the petitioner's pay scale. Even, on that date, neither the gratuity nor the commuted value of pension payable to him based on the re-fixed pay scale were paid to the petitioner.

(3.) The provisional pension papers were issued on August 27, 2004 indicating that the petitioner was not entitled to gratuity nor was he entitled to the entire commuted value of pension. The government decided to recover from the commuted value of pension an amount of Rs. 43,629/- on the ground that this amount had been wrongly paid to him due to his incorrect pay fixation.