KALPITA MOITRA Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The claim for release of the retiral as well as the pensionary benefits at the behest of the writ petitioner/appellant is rejected by the Single Bench which is assailed in the instant appeal. The fact discerned from the respective pleadings of the parties and for the purpose of determination of the point involved in the instant appeal as adumbrated herein below, are more or less undisputed. The petitioner/appellant was appointed as assistant teacher initially in Shyamsukhi Balika Shiksha Niketan, Malda on 1/9/1981.She was subsequently transferred as assistant teacher in Khadimpur Girls High School, Dakshin Dinajpur on 5/9/1992. By virtue of seniority and the vacancy arose in the post of Assistant Headmistress, the appellant was considered as eligible candidate and was appointed to the post of Assistant Headmistress on 28/12/1999 in the said school. Subsequently, on the recommendation of the West Bengal Regional School Service Commission, Western Region, Malda, the appellant was appointed as a headmistress on September 28, 2001. The pay-scale of the appellant was fixed/re-fixed with an additional increment on resuming the charge of the assistant headmistress and headmistress in the said school and was paid the salary in commensurate therewith. The appellant retired in the month of May, 2018 in the post of a headmistress from the said school.

(2.) While the appellant was discharging the duties and functions of the headmistress which she assumes on 28/9/2001, the Memo was issued by the Deputy Director of Accounts, School Education Department, Dakshin Dinajpur to the District Inspector of Schools (SE), Dakshin Dinajpur on 18/6/2014 regarding the fixation of pay under ROPA, 2009 in respect of her pay-scale. The said Memo was assailed by the appellant in WP 3772 (W) of 2015 before this Court which was subsequently withdrawn as the appellant continued to receive the salary as per the scale of pay so fixed and no steps was taken by the authorities to re-fix the same. After attaining the superannuation, the petitioner was not paid the retiral benefit as well as the pension for which another writ petition being WP 15686 (W) of 2019 was filed before this Court. During the pendency of the said writ petition, the District Inspector of Schools (SE) issued a Memo dtd. 15/1/2020 and disbursed the provisional pension on the basis of the last pay drawn. The said writ petition was ultimately disposed of on 7/6/2022 directing the DI of Schools (SE), Dakshin Dinajpur to consider the grievance of the petitioner raised in the form of a representation and suitable decision to be taken within a specified time. Pursuant to the order passed in the aforementioned writ petition, the DI of Schools (SE), Dakshin Dinajpur passed an order vide Memo dtd. 30/6/2022 directing the appellant as well as the school authorities of Khadimpur Girls High School to comply with the observations of the Deputy Director of Accounts, School Education Department to enable the office of the DI Schools (SE) Dakshin Dinajpur to process the pension papers of the petitioner. For completeness in the facts, the observation of the Deputy Director of Accounts, School Education Department is adumbrated hereinbelow:

(3.) According to the petitioner, she along with the school authority resubmitted all the papers to the DI of Schools (SE), Dakshin Dinajpur immediately thereafter on 24/8/2022. Even thereafter no steps were taken from the ends of the authorities and the writ petition from this impugned order arose, was filed for release of the retiral benefits along with the interests as the authorities have unreasonably and wrongfully detained the said benefits.