MANJU SINGH Vs. STATE OF JHARKHAND

JUDGEMENT

(1.) CHALLENGE in this writ petition filed by the petitioner is to the order dated 7.10.2006 under Memo No. 1438 (Annexure -1) passed by the respondent no. 4 and the order dated 25.4.2007 under memo no. 143 ( annexure 2) passed by the respondent no. 5, whereby a sum of Rs. 84,928/ -has been ordered to be recovered w.e.f. 1.1.1996 from the gratuity amount in the account of the petitioners husband who died in harness on 11.11.2005. Further prayer has been made for a direction to the respondents to refund the amount of Rs. 84,928/ -to the petitioner and to fix the payable pension on the basis of the last pay received by her husband before his death. The petitioner has also prayed for a direction to the respondents to pay the amount of ACP to which the deceased husband of the petitioner was entitled on completion of 12 years and 24 years of his service and to fix the pension on the revised pay scale.

(2.) THE case of the petitioner, in brief, is that her husband Sureshwar Pd Singh was appointed as a constable in the Department of Police, Wireless Section, in the year 1972. He died in harness on 11.11.2005. After his death, the petitioner, being his widow, approached the respondent authority for payment of death cum retiral benefits payable on account of her husband.

(3.) A counter affidavit has been filed on behalf of respondent no. 4. Denying the petitioners claim and the very maintainability of the writ petition, the respondents have taken the stand that the petitioners husband was appointed as a Constable (Operator) in the Bihar Police Radio, Patna, and on cadre division, he was allotted Jharkhand Cadre and was posted in the rank of Sub Inspector (Operator) under Jharkhand State Police Service. He died on 11.11.2005. On his demise, his service book and the provisional pay fixation statement was forwarded to the Finance Department of the State Government for final verification of his pay. In course of final pay verification, it was detected that the petitioners husband was granted RPP of Rs. 600/ -in addition to his salary from 1.1.1996. This RPP was given to him to equalize the pay given to his Junior, ASI Operator Jitendra Kumar Singh, vide office order 773 /99 who remained in the State of Bihar after cadre division. The Finance Department, Government of Jharkhand, vide Finance Departments memo no 1349 F2 disallowed the RPP given to the petitioners husband with direction to revise pay of the petitioners husband, excluding the RPP from 1.1.1996. The Finance Department had explained that the RPP is admissible only to those senior officers who were promoted on or after 1.1.1996 as per the Government Circular no. 5292/F2 dated 31.7.2000. It is further explained that the petitioners husband and his junior ASI Jitendra Kumar Singh were promoted to the rank of ASI Operator prior to 1.1.1996 and therefore the pay fixation with RPP was not justified as per rules. Accordingly, after disallowing RPP w.e.f. 1.1.1996 his pay was finally fixed at Rs. 5400/ -from 1.1.1996 . On account of the aforesaid error of adding the amount of RPP to his pay, the petitioners husband had drawn an excess payment to the tune of Rs. 84, 928/ -since 1.1.1996 till the date of his death on 11.11.2005. The deduction of the aforesaid amount from the gratuity amount of the deceased was accordingly made by the Accountant General, Jharkhand, Ranchi, as per the advice of the Finance Department.