DILIP KUMAR Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Supplementary counter affidavit has been filed today by the Road Construction Department stating that the file of the appellant had been sent to the Finance Department to regularise various periods of service of the petitioner in between 1992 and 1996. The same has been returned with a lot of queries. Petitioner retired in the year 2010. When the retirement dues were to be paid, it was pointed out that for various periods of service in between 1992 and 1996, petitioner was allegedly absent and being moved from one department to another, which periods had to be regularized, and in absence thereof, the retiral dues and others were not being fully settled.

(2.) He filed writ petition which was dismissed by the learned Single Judge on the ground of delay. The onus, first, here is on the Government, to show why there was delay in settlement of dues of the said periods. We are dealing with welfare state where there is a failure on the part of the Government to pay the dues and settle them and the employer cannot be penalised for the inability of the Government to be a model employer.

(3.) In view of the counter affidavit filed by the Road Construction Department, there appears to be serious discrepancies which are to be sorted out in an inter-departmental meeting i.e. the three departments i.e. Road Construction Department, Rural Works Department and Finance Department. The matter being old, if the court permits exchange of correspondences from one department to another, it would take at least another decade for the problem to be sorted out. The appellant having already retired five years back.