BACHCHI DEVI Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This appeal under Clause 10 of the Letters Patent of High Court of Judicature at Patna has been preferred by the petitioner of C.W.J.C. No. 6190 of 2000 and is aggrieved by the order dated 17.8.2004, whereby the writ petition has been dismissed, and the order of the State Government, directing recovery of a sum of Rs. 3,55,022/- from the pensioner benefits admissible to the petitioner has been up-held. A brief statement of facts essential for the disposal of this appeal may be indicated. Banarash Prasad Singh, the petitioner's late husband, was in the services of the Bihar Government and suddenly died on 7.3.1998, while he was posted as Section Officer in the Accounts Section of D.G. & KG. (P), Bihar. At the time of his death, he was in-charge of the cash chest in the accounts section. The petitioner (appellant herein) was not paid the post-retirement benefits admissible to the late employee, and payable to the petitioner in the capacity of his widow, nor family pension admissible to her, were paid leading to C.W.J.C. No. 6190 of 2000. The respondent authorities stated in the writ proceedings that, after the death of the employee, his chest was broken open and a fairly big amount was found missing. This was followed by the audit which quantified a sum of Rs. 3,55,022/-, recoverable from the late employee and now to be recovered from his widow. Learned Single Judge accepted the version of the State Government and permitted recovery of Rs. 3,55,022/- from the amounts payable to the petitioner along with interest at the rate of 7.5% to be calculated in the manner indicated in the judgment.

(2.) While expressing his grievance with respect to the judgment of the learned Single Judge, learned counsel for the appellant submits that the appellant is an illiterate lady and it is not possible for her to account for the alleged losses in the department's cash chest. He submits that law is well settled by decisions of this Court that in such circumstances, the widow should not be made liable for such recovery because she is not in a position to account for the same. He relies on the judgment of a Division Bench of this Court in Kendriya Vidyalaya vs. Shri Shyam Kishore Pandey, 2008 1 PLJR 45. He has also relied on the following judgments rendered by the learned Single Judges of this Court:

(3.) Learned Government Counsel has supported the impugned action. He submits that it is not a case where the action of late employee had caused losses to the State Government so as to attract the provisions of Bihar Pension Rules. He further submits that it is a case of simple accounting, particularly with regard to the cash in possession of the late employee and any state action for recovery is not a punitive action. In so far as the difficulty expressed on behalf of the petitioner regarding her inability to explain the losses, the task has been done by an authentic audit report of the State Government. He relies on the judgment of this Court in Chandri Devi vs. The State of Bihar,1999 2 PLJR 372.