WPA 15811 of 2021 30.4.2025 Tapan Kumar Ghosh-vs- The State of West Bengal & Ors. Ct.25,sl. 3 sk Mr. Ekramul Bari Sk Imtiaj Uddin …for the petitioner. Ms. Sabnam De Bardhan Ms. Anima Das Chakraborty …for the State Mr. Subhash Chandra Basu …for the respondent nos. 7 & 8. 1. The petitioner is the retired Headmaster of the School being superannuated on April 30, 2020 has been issued the Pension Payment Order by the Pension Sanctioning Authority/respondent, on April 20, 2021. 2. The present writ petition is filed alleging the inaction of the School authority, in issuance of “no liability certificate”, to the petitioner and disbursement of pension to him. 3. Mr. Bari, learned advocate appearing for the writ petitioner has submitted that in spite of there being no allegation, show-cause notice, charge-sheet, disciplinary enquiry having been issued or held or contemplated against the writ petitioner during his service period, the petitioner has been unjustly and illegally victimized being deprived of the pension due to the inaction as above of the School authority. He 2 has further submitted that the sole allegation against the writ petitioner has been that during his tenure as Headmaster of the School, the petitioner has not taken any steps for financial audit of the School account. 4. Mr. Bari says that at a later stage, with due co- operation of the writ petitioner, the School authority has conducted the financial audit for the relevant financial years and the audit report does not show any material as against the writ petitioner, to justify the steps taken by the School authority by not issuing “no liability certificate” to the petitioner. 5. Ms. De Bardhan, learned advocate appears for the State respondent. 6. Mr. Subhash Chandra Basu, learned advocate, has appeared for the School Authority. He has submitted that in terms of the relevant rules, the petitioner being the Headmaster of the School was duty bound to conduct audit of the School accounts i.e. particularly for the period from 2013-2014 to 2019- 2020. He says that during the said period, there are allegations of misappropriation of huge amount of school fund, to the tune of Rs. 13, 00,000/-. 3 7. So far as regarding the query of the Court if the writ petitioner has been made subject to the disciplinary proceeding or any other proceedings on the allegation of being a part of the alleged embezzlement of fund of the school as above, the School authority responses in negative. Instead, the record reveals that at the instance of the petitioner being the Headmaster of the School, a criminal proceeding has been initiated by lodging of FIR and the same is now pending. 8. Therefore, from the four-corner of the records as well as after carefully considering the submissions made on behalf of the parties, the Court finds that with regard to the allegation of defalcation of the school fund, there is no iota of any material against the writ petitioner being the Headmaster of the School at the relevant point of time, to have been involved therein. 9. The Court also does not find any material that the petitioner has ever been charged with a similar allegation, by the Authority. 10. It is further found that the petitioner having now been superannuated with effect from April 30, 2020 shall be eligible for his pension as a part of his right of life guaranteed under the Constitution of India, 4 unless and until cogent and sufficient reason should authorize the concerned respondent authorities to withhold the same justifiably and legally. Since the School Authority has submitted about alleged involvement of the petitioner, to justify its action, the Court finds the same to be founded on no material at all. Admittedly, the petitioner has not been subjected to any proceeding, either departmental or criminal, during his service period. 11. In the instant case hence, for the petitioner no such justifiable reason to withdraw his pension is apparent. In such view of the facts non-issuance of the “no liability certificate” to the writ petitioner by the School authorities is not only an unreasonable and whimsical act but also arbitrary and illegal, which cannot be sustained. 12. In such circumstances, the Court finds it proper to allow the present writ petition, by directing the respondent School Authority/respondent nos. 7 & 8, to immediately take steps for issuance of “no liability certificate” to the petitioner and disbursement of pension to him in terms of the Pension Payment Order dated April 20, 2021. 5 13. The concerned respondent authority/authorities shall take steps with regard to the direction as above, maximum within a period of ten days from the date of communication of copy of this order. 14. Arrear pension as stands due and outstanding to the writ petitioner in terms of the Pension Payment Order dated April 20, 2021 along with interest at the rate of savings bank interest rate of a Nationalized Bank, shall be disbursed to the petitioner within a period of two months from the date of communication of copy of this order. 15. With the above observations and directions the writ petition being WPA 15811 of 2021 is disposed of. 16. Since no affidavit is invited, the allegations contained in the petition are deemed to have been denied by the respondents including the private respondents. 17. Urgent certified website copy of this order, if applied for, be supplied to the parties upon compliance with all requisite formalities. . (Rai Chattopadhyay, J.)