CENTRAL BANK OF INDIA Vs. DIL BAHADUR SINGH

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The facts leading to this revision petition are that the respondent, Dil Bahadur Singh (who has since died and whose legal representatives have been brought on the record) was employed as a Daftary in the Central Bank of India, Bareilly Branch. He retired from the services of the Bank on 31st December, 1987. As an employee of the Bank, he had been provided with a residential accommodation. After his reitrement he claimed gratuity and provident fund due to him and which had been withheld by the Bank as he did not hand over the possession of the allotted accommodation to the Bank after his retirement. Thereafter the respondent requested the Bank in writing to give him the gratuity as he was in need of money for the purpose of construction of his house and that the amount due as the provident fund be kept till he vacated the house. The Bank, therefore, kept the provident found amount of Rs. 43,936.26 due to the respondent in the Savings Bank Account of the respondent with the said branch of the Bank but stopped the operation of the said account. The respondent did not hand over the possession of the allotted premises and on other hand started making demands of the money by way of the operation of the said account. When he Bank did not permit the operation of the account, the respondent filed a complaint before the District Forum, Bareilly claiming the said amount of Rs. 43,936.26 plus interest at the rate of 24 per cent. He also claimed compensation which he quantified at Rs. 25,000/-.

(2.) The said complaint was contested by the Opp. Party, that is the present petitioners before us, by filing a counter in which they said that the claimant, respondent had himself given in writing that the amount of provident fund need not be paid to him till he vacated the allotted accommodation.

(3.) The District Forum held that the claimant was entitled to the payment of the Provident Fund amount and the vacation of the allotted premises by him had no connection with it and it was an entirely different matter and, therefore, non-payment of the provident fund was not justifiable. Consequently, the District Forum ordered the Opp. Party to pay a sum of Rs. 43,936.26 to the claimant within one month of that order with interest at the rate of 18 per cent. Rs. 2,000/- was also awarded to the claimant as compensation.