MURARI SHARAN SINHA Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) Learned counsel for the petitioner submits at the outset that during the pendency of this writ application, the retiral dues of the petitioner, including the payable amount of gratuity, has been paid to him and except the petitioner's demand for payment of interest on the delayed payment of gratuity, the petitioner does not have any further grievance.

(2.) Learned counsel for the respondent State as also counsel for the respondent Accountant General would inform that the petitioner appears to have earlier filed a writ application before the Patna High Court in which, as appearing from the correspondences exchanged between the concerned departments, the petitioner had earlier raised the same issue regarding non- payment of his retiral dues. It also appears that the gratuity amount was with- held on the ground that the petitioner upon his retirement, did not handover charge of the materials of the department of which he was incharge and the value of which was assessed in the Audit Report at Rs. 1,31,340/-. It is also not informed by the petitioner as to what was the order passed by the Patna High Court in the earlier writ application. As it appears from the pleadings of the writ application, the petitioner has not informed as to whether he had filed any previous writ application for the relief which he has claimed in the present writ application and if so, what was the order passed, if any, by the Court in such writ application.

(3.) In the rejoinder to the counter affidavit of the respondents, the petitioner, while admitting the fact that he had not handed over the charge of some materials which he was expected to do before his transfer from the concerned station, would want to explain that the handing over of the materials could not be done because of the failure of the Executive Engineer to specify as to which authority should the petitioner deliver the articles and that such articles, 14 in number, are still lying and are being used in the office of the Executive Engineer, Minor Distribution Division No. 8, Jamshedpur. The petitioner has claimed further that it was only after he had submitted his no dues certificate, that he was allowed to demit his office upon his retirement.