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Judgment
Namit Kumar, J.
The petitioner has filed the instant petition under Articles 226/227 of the Constitution of India, seeking issuance of a writ of certiorari for quashing the impugned order dated 17.09.2021 (Annexure P-10) and reply dated 12.01.2022 to the legal notice (Annexure P-12), rejecting the claim of the petitioner for grant of interest @ 18% per annum on the delayed payments of gratuity and full pension. Further, seeking issuance of a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to pay interest @ 18% per annum on the delayed payments of gratuity and full pension.
Briefly stated, the facts of the case are that, the petitioner was appointed as Constable in the Punjab Police on 11.06.1982. During his service tenure, he was promoted to the post of Head Constable on 01.04.1991 (revised date 01.11.1992) and further, to the post of Assistant Sub Inspector on 25.04.2011 (revised date 18.05.2011). The petitioner was due to retire on 31.12.2017. However, just before 14 days of his retirement, on 18.12.2017, due to negligence of the petitioner, HC Gurdip Singh and HC Balwinder Singh, one accused, namely Varinder Singh, managed to escape from their custody at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital, Amritsar. The petitioner, along with other police officials, was held responsible for the escape of aforesaid accused. Consequently, an FIR No.618 dated 18.12.2017 under Sections 223 & 224 of Indian Penal Code, 1860, was registered against them at Police Station Civil Lines, Amritsar. They were arrested and subsequently, released on bail. Thereafter, on the recommendations of Deputy Superintendent of Police, Headquarters Amritsar Rural, the petitioner along with other police officials were dismissed from service, vide order dated 22.12.2017, passed by respondent No.4. Aggrieved by the said order, the petitioner preferred an appeal which was considered and rejected by the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Border Range, Amritsar, vide order dated 30.01.2018. Thereafter, the petitioner filed a revision against the order dated 22.12.2017 and 30.01.2018 before respondent No.3. The petitioner also submitted an application dated 11.04.2018 before the Commissioner of Police, Amritsar, stating therein that he is innocent and requested for an inquiry in the abovesaid FIR. The inquiry was entrusted to ACP/North, Amritsar City, who vide its report dated 22.05.2018, declared the petitioner innocent. The said report was approved by the Commissioner of Police, Amritsar on 10.06.2018. Consequently, challan was presented in the abovesaid FIR before the learned Trial Court on 21.07.2018, wherein the name of the petitioner was kept in Column No.2. Meanwhile, the revision filed by the petitioner was allowed by respondent No.3, vide order dated 19.04.2018, and the petitioner was ordered to be reinstated in service, w.e.f. 22.12.2017, i.e., the date of order of his dismissal with all consequential benefits, subject to the final outcome of the criminal case arising out of FIR No.618 (supra) pending against him. Accordingly, the petitioner was reinstated in service w.e.f. 22.12.2017, however, he was considered/treated as retired w.e.f. 31.12.2017, as he had already attained the age of superannuation on the said date. Thereafter, the petitioner submitted an application dated 07.05.2018 before the respondents, requesting therein that till the decision of the criminal case, he may be sanctioned provisional pension, which was sanctioned to the petitioner, vide order dated 11.05.2018. Apart from the provisional pension, leave encashment amounting to Rs.6,15,100/- was sanctioned, vide order dated 19.05.2018 and G.P.F. amounting to Rs.12,72,429/-was sanctioned vide order dated 09.02.2018. Thereafter, the petitioner submitted an application dated 04.03.2019 before the respondents, requesting therein that since he has been declared innocent in the criminal case, his pension case may be prepared and forwarded for sanction. When full pension and other retiral dues were not released to the petitioner, he served a legal notice dated 23.11.2020 (Annexure P-6) upon the respondents, but to no avail. Thereafter, the petitioner approached this Court by filing CWP No.5684 of 2021 titled as ‘Balwinder Singh Vs. State of Punjab and others’ seeking issuance of directions to the respondents to release full pension and other retiral benefits to the petitioner along with interest @ 18% per annum. The said writ petition was disposed of by this Court, vide order dated 10.03.2021 (Annexure P-7), with a direction to respondent No.4 to consider and deal with/decide the legal notice dated 23.11.2020 of the petitioner in accordance with law/relevant rules, by passing a speaking order thereon, within a period of three months from the date of receipt of certified copy of the order. Thereafter, all the retiral dues were released to the petitioner and respondent No.4 passed the impugned order dated 17.09.2021 (Annexure P-10) and reply dated 12.01.2022 (Annexure P-12) to the legal notice was also sent to the petitioner, whereby the claim of the petitioner for grant of interest on the delayed payments of retiral dues has been rejected. Hence, the instant petition, claim interest.
Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner was declared innocent by the police department in criminal case FIR No.618 (supra) and his revision was also allowed by respondent No.3, vide order dated 19.04.2018, whereby he was ordered to be reinstated in service, w.e.f. 22.12.2017, i.e., the date of order of dismissal from service, with all consequential benefits. The petitioner was also considered/treated as having retired from service, w.e.f. 31.12.2017, as he had already attained the age of superannuation on the said date. However, the arrears of pension amounting to Rs.3,81,569/-and gratuity amounting to Rs.10,00,000/- were released to the petitioner only on 01.11.2021, i.e., after a delay of more than 03 years and 06 months from the date of order of reinstatement, i.e., 19.04.2018. He further submits that the petitioner has also been acquitted in the criminal case, vide judgment dated 24.09.2024, passed by learned Judicial Magistrate First Class, Amritsar. He further submits that since there is a considerable delay in releasing the arrears of pension and gratuity, therefore, the petitioner is entitled for interest on the delayed payments of the said benefits.
Per contra, learned State counsel, while referring to the averments made in the written statement filed on behalf of the respondents, submits that the delay in releasing the amounts of arrears of pension and gratuity payable to the petitioner was occasioned on account of the pendency of the criminal case against him. He further submits that the delay in releasing the said benefits is not intentional and purely procedural. Therefore, the petitioner is not entitled for any interest.
I have heard learned counsel for the parties and have gone through the relevant documents.
Admittedly, the petitioner was appointed as Constable in the Punjab Police on 11.06.1982 and after serving the Police Department for more than 35 years, the petitioner was due to retire on 31.12.2017. However, just before 14 days of his retirement, an FIR No.618 (supra) was registered against him and other police officials regarding escape of one accused, namely Varinder Singh from their custody at Guru Nank Dev Hospital, Amritsar. Consequently, they were dismissed from service, vide order dated 22.12.2017, passed by respondent No.4. Thereafter, vide order dated 19.04.2018, passed by respondent No.3, on the revision filed by the petitioner, the petitioner was ordered to be reinstated in service w.e.f. 22.12.2017, i.e., the date of order of dismissal, with all consequential benefits, subject to the final outcome of the criminal case. Consequently, the petitioner was ordered to be reinstated in service w.e.f. 22.12.2017, however, he was considered/treated as retired w.e.f. 31.12.2017, as he had already attained the age of superannuation on the said date.
Once the petitioner was reinstated in service w.e.f. the date of his order of dismissal, i.e., 22.12.2017 and was also considered/treated as having been retired from service w.e.f. 31.12.2017, as he had attained the age of superannuation on the said date, the retiral dues of the petitioner ought to have been released within a reasonable period from the date of the order of his reinstatement, i.e., 19.04.2018. Although, the other retiral benefits i.e. provisional pension, leave encashment and G.P.F. were released to the petitioner in time, however, arrears of pension amounting to Rs.3,81,569/- and gratuity amounting to Rs.10,00,000/- were released to the petitioner only on 01.11.2021, after an inordinate delay of more than 03 years and 06 months from the date of order of reinstatement in service, i.e., 19.04.2018. Consequently, the petitioner cannot be deprived of the benefit of interest on the delayed release of arrears of pension and gratuity amounts, particularly when the petitioner was found innocent in the inquiry conducted by the police and has also been acquitted by the learned Trial Court, vide judgment dated 24.09.2024. In such circumstances, the delay in release of the retiral dues cannot be attributed to any fault or omission on the part of the petitioner, and he is, therefore, entitled to interest on the delayed payments of arrears of pension and gratuity.
A Full Bench of this Court in A.S. Randhawa Vs. State of Punjab : 1997(3) S.C.T. 468 has held that where there is an inordinate delay in releasing benefits and the delay is not justifiable, employee will be entitled for interest. The relevant paragraph of the said judgment is as under:-
“8.Since a government employee on his retirement becomes immediately entitled to pension and other benefits in terms of the Pension Rules, a duty is simultaneously cast on the State to ensure the disbursement of pension and other benefits to the retirer in proper time. As to what is proper time will depend on the facts and circumstances of each case but normally it would not exceed two months from the date of retirement which time limit has been laid down by the Apex Court in M. Padmanabhan Nair's case (supra). If the State commits any default in the performance of its duty thereby denying to the retiree the benefit of the immediate use of his money, there is no gainsaying the fact that he gets a right to be compensated and, in our opinion, the only way to compensate him is to pay him interest for the period of delay on the amount as was due to him on the date of his retirement. xx xx xx xx”
Apart from this, in J.S. Cheema Vs. State of Haryana and others : 2014(13) RCR (Civil) 355, this Court has held that an employee will be entitled for the interest on an amount which has been retained by the respondents without any valid justification. The relevant paragraph of the said judgment is as under: -
“5.xx xx xx xx The jurisprudential basis for grant of interest is the fact that one person's money has been used by somebody else. It is in that sense rent for the usage of money. If the user is compounded by any negligence on the part of the person with whom the money is laying it may result in higher rate because then it can also include the component of damages (in the form of interest). In the circumstances, even if there is no negligence on the part of the State it cannot be denied that money which rightly belonged to the petitioner was in the custody of the State and was being used by it.”
In view of the above factual position and settled principles of law, the present petition is disposed of with a direction to the respondents to pay interest @ 7% per annum on the delayed payments of arrears of pension and gratuity of the petitioner w.e.f. 20.06.2018 (i.e. after two months from the order dated 19.04.2018, whereby the petitioner was ordered to be reinstated in service) till the actual date of payment, within a period of 02 months from the date of receipt of certified copy of this order.