SADHU SHARAN SINGH Vs. STATE OF BIHAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE writ applications have been listed together on the slips of Learned Counsel for the respective petitioners in response to a Court notice inviting them to file slips of writ applications filed up to 2007 in which no counter affidavit has been filed by the respective heads of office/sanctioning authorities. In all these writ applications, the claims of the petitioners are for payment of retiral dues of the retired employees or death -cum -retirement dues of the employees who have died -in -harness or after retirement, either before filing of the writ application or during its pendency including arrears of gratuity as per the rate prescribed, provident fund with statutory interest, as also dues under other heads. In some cases, claim has been raised with regard to arrears of salary, not paid during the service period of the concerned Government employee or arrears under different heads on account of revision of pay -scale of the employee or promotion granted to them with retrospective effect at different points or for grant of revised pay -scale due at the relevant point of time during service period as per the law applicable at the time and consequential revision under other heads of post retiral dues and payments of differential amount on this count, so on and so forth.

(2.) IN spite of filing of these writ applications months and years back, no counter affidavits have been filed in these writ applications by the respective heads of offices/sanctioning authorities denying the claims of the petitioners with regard to the dues under different heads mentioned in the writ application, or raising any objection with regard to any specific claim so raised or non -furnishing of particulars/informations in spite of written request in this regard. As per Rules of Patna High Court, at the time of filing of the writ application, two copies of the writ application are served on the Learned Counsel for the respondents, who are authorized to receive copies and appear on behalf of the respondents named in the respective writ applications. This requirement was introduced in the procedure for filing of writ applications in the High Court to ensure that the respondents get the notice/information of filing of the writ application, with its filing, (as it was made a condition precedent for acceptance of filing by the High Court registry) and they act on it by filing appropriate counter affidavit in the respective writ matters, without waiting for the case to be taken up in due course, which, at times, happened after months or, may be, years. Accordingly, all the writ applications of the present batch were filed in the High Court Registry after service of two copies of the application on the respective counsel for the respondents. It is a uniform practice of this Court that, in normal course, the respective counsel, immediately after receipt of two copies of the writ application, send letter to the concerned respondents, alongwith one copy of the writ application, for their information and for them to take appropriate steps in the matter of claims of the petitioner(s) and file a counter affidavit at the earliest.

(3.) THESE writ applications have been sorted out and have been listed together in a batch, as the employees whose claims have been agitated in the respective writ applications were all in the service of the State of Bihar and/or its subordinate offices and have retired from or have died while in Government service. As such, in all the writ applications, the State of Bihar is a common party with its different officers and subordinate authorities, depending upon the office where the employee had last worked at the relevant time. In the circumstances, the Rules governing the pecuniary benefits of the State Government employees, and particularly Bihar Pension Rules in respect of retiral claims, shall be applicable in all cases. Therefore, before proceeding further, it would be appropriate that some of the relevant provisions of the Bihar Pension Rules, 1950 and executive instructions issued therein are noticed here.