2025:JHHC:23238-DB 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JHARKHAND AT RANCHI C.M.P. No.383 of 2022 With I.A. No.4503 of 2024 ----- 1. State of Jharkhand through the Director, Secondary Education, Govt. of Jharkhand, Project Bhawan, Dhurwa, Ranchi. 2. Alka Jaiswal, wife of Dr. Jayant Bhagat, presently posted and working as District Education Officer, Dhanbad. .......... Petitioners. -Versus- Joydeb Chatterjee, son of Late Baidyanath Chatterjee, resident of village & Post-Pandra, P.S. Nirsha, District-Dhanbad. .......... Respondent. ----- CORAM : HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE RAJESH SHANKAR ----- For the Petitioners : Mr. Devesh Krishna, S.C.(Mines)-III For the Respondent: Mr. Mahesh Tewari, Advocate ----- Order No.09 Date: 12.08.2025 1. The respondent herein had approached the writ court by filing a writ petition, seeking direction against the appellants/petitioners to send all the records to this High Court pertaining to withholding of his post-retirement benefits. The respondent had retired from service from the post of Clerk, S.S.K.B.C. High School at Nirsa on 31st August, 2017, but his post retiral benefits including pension and gratuity had been withheld by the appellants. 2. The writ petition was partly allowed by the learned Writ Court vide its order dated 12th September, 2019 and it was held that the appellants were precluded from withholding the amount of gratuity and pension from 1st September, 2017 and, accordingly, a direction was given to the appellants to release the amount of gratuity and pension within a period of six weeks from the date of receipt of copy of the order. 2025:JHHC:23238-DB 2 3. Aggrieved by the said judgment passed by the learned Writ Court, the appellants preferred L.P.A. No.29 of 2020, whereas the respondent herein preferred Contempt Case (Civil) No.88 of 2020, complaining of non-implementation of the judgment passed by the learned Writ Court. 4. The said contempt case was referred to the National Lok Adalat and came up for consideration on 11th September, 2021. On the said date, the National Lok Adalat passed the following Award: “The matter was taken up in National Lok Adalat through virtual mode. Mr. Ankur Anand, learned counsel for the petitioner at the outset has submitted that the order dated 12.09.2019 passed in W.P.(S) No.5807 of 2018 has been complied with, therefore, he is not intending to pursue the instant contempt case. Mr. Devesh Krishna, learned counsel for the opposite party- State by referring to the show cause submits that the order has been complied with, therefore, the matter may be disposed of. This Court, considering the said submission and taking into consideration the fact that since the entire amount has been disbursed in faovur of the petitioner, as such, the order passed dated 12.09.2019 passed in W.P.(S) No.5807 of 2018 has been complied with. In view thereof, the instant contempt case is finally closed, accordingly, disposed of.” 5. Subsequently, the aforesaid L.P.A. filed by the appellants was dismissed due to non-compliance of the peremptory order dated 5th April, 2022, whereby the appellants were granted three weeks’ time to remove the defects. 6. Thereafter the appellants/petitioners filed present civil miscellaneous petition for restoration of L.P.A. No.29 of 2020, which stood dismissed for non-compliance of the peremptory order dated 5th April, 2022. They also filed an interlocutory application being I.A. No.4503 of 2024 for condonation of delay of 42 days in preferring the aforesaid civil miscellaneous petition. 2025:JHHC:23238-DB 3 7. For the reasons stated in the said interlocutory application duly supported by the affidavit of the petitioner no.2-applicant, we find sufficient cause to condone the delay of 42 days that has crept up in filing of the civil miscellaneous petition. 8. Ordered accordingly. 9. I.A. No.4503 of 2024 is disposed of 10. Consequently, L.P.A. No.29 of 2020 is ordered to be restored to its original file and stage. 11. Accordingly, this civil miscellaneous petition is disposed of. 12. In the given circumstance, the L.P.A. No.29 of 2020 filed by the appellants/petitioners has been rendered infructuous in view of the award passed by the National Lok Adalat and the order passed by the learned Writ Court has been complied with unconditionally as would be evident from the order dated 11th September, 2021 (supra). The order passed by the learned Writ Court has, in fact, merged with the Award passed by the National Lok Adalat on 11th September, 2021 and, therefore, the Award passed by the National Lok Adalat has otherwise attained finality and would otherwise also not open to challenge the same in view of Section 21 of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. 13. The appeal is accordingly disposed of as having been rendered infructuous without there being parties to pay the cost. (Tarlok Singh Chauhan, C.J.) (Rajesh Shankar, J.) Sanjay/Rohit