JHARNA CHAKRABORTY Vs. STATE OF WEST BENGAL

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Affidavit of service filed in court today is taken on record.

(2.) The husband of the writ petitioner served as an assistant teacher in a school who retired on March 31, 2006. The writ petitioner is aggrieved by reason of deduction in her husband's basic pay by pension payment order issued by the concerned authority on July 5, 2006. The amount deducted is Rs.46,628 under the category of "overdrawal in pay etc.".

(3.) The issue whether overdrawal of pay can be adjusted against retirement dues of an employee has been settled in Shyam Babu Verma and Ors. v. Union of India and Ors. reported in (1994) 2 SCC 521 and also in a later decision of Syed Abdul Qadir and Ors. v. State of Bihar and Ors. reported in (2009) 3 SCC 475 and in State of Punjab and Ors. v. Rafiq Masih (White Washer) and Ors. reported in (2015) 4 SCC 334 . A judgement of a co-ordinate Bench of this court in the case of Shiba Rani Maity v. The State of West Bengal in WP No. 29979 (W) of 2016 as well as Biswanath Ghosh v. The State of West Bengal in WP No. 27562 (W) of 2016 has categorically held that in a case where no rights have accrued in favour of a third party, the petitioner who has suffered by reason of non-payment of amount withheld on the grounds of an alleged overdrawal has a right to approach this court for appropriate relief. The relevant paragraphs from WP No. 29979 (W) of 2016 are set out below: