Abul Kalam Azad v. State Of West Bengal And ORS.

SM 19.08.2025 Court No.759 WPA 28392 of 2024 Abul Kalam Azad Vs The State of West Bengal & Ors.

Mr. Jakir Hossain ... for the petitioner The issue to be decided in the present writ petition is whether an employee is entitled to receive pension on and from the date following retirement or from the date of refund of the employer's share of contribution.

The petitioner retired from service upon attaining the age of superannuation on 30.06.2009.

In response to the notification published by the School Education Department being No.

79SE(L)/SL/5S-56/13(Pt-V) dated 13th June, 2014 issued in compliance with the direction passed by the Hon'ble Special Bench of this Court in the judgment dated 16th July, 2013 in the matter of District Inspector of Schools (S.E.), Kolkata -vs- Abhijit Baidya, the petitioner exercised option to switch from CPF to GPF and refunded the employer's share of contribution with interest and additional interest on 13.09.2014. Pension Payment Order was issued in favour of the petitioner with effect from the date of refund of the employer's share of contribution.

The petitioner claims that pension ought to have been released on and from the next date of retirement and not from the date of refund of the employer's share of contribution.

A similar issue has been decided by this Court in the matter of WPA No. 964 of 2022 (Sitala Mandal (Chaudhuri) -vs- State of West Bengal & Ors.). The judgment passed in the aforesaid matter on 8th February, 2022 covers the present writ petition. Instant writ petition is disposed of by directing the Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group Insurance and the concerned Treasury Officer to verify the records, and in the event, it is found, that the petitioner exercised option and refunded the employer's share of contribution within the time specified in the notification dated 13th June, 2014, then appropriate steps shall be taken to issue a Revised Pension Payment Order in favour of the petitioner with effect from the date following the date of retirement on superannuation, and to release the pension in accordance with the Revised Pension Payment Order. Such steps shall be taken within a period of eighteen weeks from the date of communication of a copy of this order.

For the aforesaid purpose, the D.I. of Schools concerned shall process the claim for arrears of pension

and make/forward a necessary recommendation/ sanction to the DPPG expeditiously. The DPPG, in turn, shall act based on such recommendation/sanction. With these observations, the writ petition is disposed of.

There will be no order as to costs.

Urgent certified photo copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties expeditiously on compliance of usual legal formalities.

(Rajarshi Bharadwaj, J.)