In a significant rebuke to the West Bengal government, the Supreme Court has imposed a fine of Rs 10 lakh for what it described as a “frivolous” plea concerning the non-payment of retirement dues to a former employee. The court chastised the state for its prolonged delay in resolving the pension dues of a man who retired back in 2007.
Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta presided over the case, dismissing the state’s petition against an earlier judgment by the Calcutta High Court. The High Court had previously quashed disciplinary proceedings against the retiree and ordered the state to release all pending dues. Despite this order, the dues remained unpaid, leading to the Supreme Court’s intervention.
“We dismiss these petitions filed by the state of West Bengal on the ground of delay as well as on merits and also impose costs of Rs 10 lakh, to be paid to the respondent within four weeks from today,” stated the Supreme Court bench in its ruling on February 14. The bench highlighted that the plea was submitted with a substantial delay of 391 days without a satisfactory explanation from the state, further compounding the issue.
The case history reveals that the employee was subjected to a disciplinary inquiry in 1989, which exonerated him in 1994. Despite the exoneration, a show-cause notice was issued in 1997 proposing punishment, prompted by the vigilance department. No action was taken following the man’s response to the showcause notice in the same year, leaving the matter unresolved for over a decade.
Shockingly, three years post his retirement in 2010, a second showcause notice was issued for the same reasons as those stated in the initial 1989 disciplinary proceedings. This belated action underscored a significant lapse in administrative procedures and fairness towards the retired employee.
