Tetri Debi v. State Of West Bengal And ORS.

IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA

29.06.

Ct. No. 18 CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION APPELLATE SIDE.

WPA 14321 of 2026 Ab Tetri Debi Vs.

The State of West Bengal and others.

--------------- Mr. Srinjay Sengupta Mr. Saurav Roy Mr. Ankush Ghosh Mr. Prasenjit Jana ... For the petitioner.

Ms. Aparna Banerjee, Ld. AGP Ms. Debleena Dasgupta.

... For the State Mr. Niladri Bhattacharjee, Ms. Poulami Chattopadhyay.

... For the WBTC Limited

1. Affidavit of service filed in Court today be kept with the records.

2. The petitioner retired on superannuation from the Calcutta Tramways Company (1978) Limited currently known as the West Bengal Transport Corporation Limited on 30th November 2024. Though other retiral dues were paid to the petitioner within time, but provident fund dues were released in favour of the petitioner on 19th March 2025.

3. The petitioner prays for interest on account of delay in releasing the provident fund dues.

4. It is settled law that the right of a retired employee to get his retiral dues on the date of attaining

superannuation is a valuable right which accrues in his favour on the date of his attaining superannuation. Retiral dues are no more considered to be a bounty to be handed out by the State at its whim. An employee has a statutory right to receive such payment upon retirement. If payment is delayed, the retired employee is surely entitled to get some interest for such delayed payment.

5. In the present case, it was the bounden duty of the employer to disburse the provident fund amount on the due date. As the employer has failed to do so and has released such amount after unexplained delay, the employer is obliged to pay interest to the retired employee.

6. In view of the above, I direct the concerned authority of the Corporation to pay to the petitioner simple interest at the rate of 6% per annum on provident fund dues calculated on and from the next date of retirement till the date of actual payment within a period of four months from the date of communication of this order.

7. In default of paying interest to the petitioner in terms of the aforesaid direction, the concerned respondent authority shall be liable to pay additional simple interest at the rate of 2% i.e. 6+2= 8% on provident fund dues.

8. The writ petition stands disposed of.

9. Parties to act on the basis of the server copy of this order duly downloaded from the official website of this Court.

10. Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties upon compliance of all requisite formalities.

(Reetobroto Kumar Mitra, J.)