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Judgment
The applicant is a retired Chief Travelling Ticket Inspector in the Southern Railway who took voluntary retirement on 30.09.2016. Annexure A2 dated 05.01.2017 indicates that he had made a representation before the respondents seeking to release the retirement benefits to him. According to the applicant he has other liabilities to be redeemed. Annexure A6 Demand Notice has been produced to prove this contention. He is suffering from Carcinoma Prostate. Despite all these difficulties, the gratuity amount and commuted value of pension etc., were not released to him. Annexure A4 representation was responded by Annexure A5 reply dated 27.12.2017 whereby it was informed, quoting Rule 10(C) of the Railway Services (Pension) Rules that gratuity and commuted value cannot be paid till the conclusion of the judicial proceedings. Therefore the applicant has moved this Tribunal for quashing Annexure A5 and seeking direction to the respondents to release the gratuity, commuted value of pension and other retirement benefits with interest @14% per annum.
It is a fact that on the date of issue of Annexure A5, OP 2179/2016 was pending before the Family Court, Thiruvananthapuram against the applicant and the 2nd respondent. That OP was instituted by the wife and daughter of the applicant seeking recovery of gold and money from him. The 2nd respondent was impleaded there as the garnishee.
Even though the respondents contested and highlighted the embargo in Rule 10(c) of the Rules for releasing the gratuity and commuted value of pension, from their own version it has come out that the OP 2179/2016 pending before the Family Court was disposed in 2018 but according to them, they did not get the details of the original proceedings. Whatever it may be, Annexure A8 was produced by the applicant on 18.11.2021 which is the copy of the decree of the Family Court dated 25.07.2018 whereby a decree has been passed against the applicant as the first respondent therein. Learned counsel for the applicant submits that he has not preferred any appeal against Annexure A8 decree.
Today when taken up for final hearing, learned Standing Counsel submits that in the light of the fact that the Original Petition before the Family Court stands disposed of, there is no difficulty in releasing the gratuity and other benefits to the applicant. According to him there is no objection in passing such an order. He has however submitted that the respondents may not be burdened with interest as prayed for by the applicant. On the other hand learned counsel for the applicant submits that despite the fact that the OP was disposed of by the Family Court in 2018, there is no excuse for the delay in disbursing the amount and such a delay cannot be condoned and therefore he pressed for interest at reasonable rates. But learned Standing Counsel submits that after the disposal of the OP, pendency of this O.A was the reason for not disbursing the amount due to the applicant.
Of course, during the pendency of a judicial proceedings, as stated in Rule 10(c) of the Indian Railway Services (Pension) Rules, the gratuity and other benefits could not have been disbursed to the applicant. But once it has come out that the Original Petition in which the applicant was the first respondent stood disposed of on 25-07-2018, the respondents should not have hesitated to disburse the amount. Anyhow now the Annexure A8 decree has become final. Moreover it does not contemplate any order against the 2nd respondent in the OP who is the 2nd respondent here. In the circumstances, there is a direction to the respondents to disburse the pensionary benefits like gratuity, commuted value of pension, etc., to the applicant within a period of 30 days from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.
Even though the reason for the delay in disbursing the benefits to the applicant is neither convincing nor satisfactory, I abstain from awarding any amount as interest.
The O.A is disposed of as above. No costs.
List of Annexures
Annexure A1- True copy of the communication showing the acceptance of applicants request for voluntary retirement dated 19.08.2016 issued by the 2 respondent.
Annexure A2- A true copy of the representation dated 05.01.2017, submitted by the applicant before the 2 respondent.
Annexure A3- A true copy of the provisional pension payment order dated 11.07.2017 of the applicant.
Annexure A4- True copy of the representation dated 07.10.2017 submitted by the applicant before the 3 respondent.
Annexure A5- True copy of the communication dated 27.12.2017 issued by the 3 respondent for and on behalf of the 2 respondent, by which petitioner's request for disbursal of retirement benefits was declined.
Annexure A6- A true copy of the demand notice issued by the Poothakkulam Service Co-operative Bank dated 15.01.2019 translation.
Annexure A7- A true copy of applicant's treatment certificate dated 11.11.2019 issued from Regional Cancer Centre.
Annexure A8- True copy of the decree in OP 2179/2016 dated 25.07.2018 of the Hon'ble Family Court, Thiruvananthapuram.
Annexure R1- True copy of the case status of OP 2179/2016 before the Family Court, Thiruvananthapuram.
Annexure R2- True copy of 10(c) of Indian Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993.