Pay interest on delayed payment of retiral dues to former IAS officer: CAT

Ramkrishan Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 24

The Chandigarh Bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has ordered the Punjab Government to give interest on the delayed payment of retiral dues to former IAS officer Harkesh Singh Sidhu.

Sidhu challenged the order of the Punjab Government for denying the interest on the delayed payment of gratuity and part of leave encashment. Sidhu, an Indian Administrative Service officer, was superannuated on January 31, 2014.

On his retirement, he was released full pension on a provisional basis. However, gratuity amounting to Rs10 lakh and part of leave encashment of Rs99,354 were withheld. In the application filed before the CAT, he said no disciplinary or criminal case was pending against him at the time of his retirement.

He said an inquiry committee, constituted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court, made certain observations in its findings regarding purchase of a luxury car when he was posted as the Divisional Commissioner-cum-president, District Red Cross Society, Kapurthala. The committee was formed in 2007 on a public interest litigation (PIL) alleging misappropriation of funds of Red Cross Society by various officers in Punjab.

An inquiry was marked and he submitted his defence on November 13, 2015. Finally, an order exonerating him in the disciplinary case was passed on June 20, 2019. The government also ordered to release his regular pension, gratuity and other dues in September 2019. After that, Sidhu made a request for payment of interest @18 per cent per annum on delayed payment by his representation dated September 31, 2019. The government denied his request.

After hearing the arguments from both sides, CAT member Ajanta Dayalan said the applicant was entitled for interest on delayed payment of retiral dues to him, especially as there was no disciplinary or vigilance case pending against him on the date of retirement. Even the chargesheet issued after the retirement of the applicant was dropped by the respondent departments themselves and no case of misutilisation of funds or having caused financial loss to the government was proved against him.

Hence, the applicant would be entitled to interest for delay in payment of retiral dues namely gratuity and part of leave encashment beyond the normal period of three months up to the date of their actual payment. It is directed that the applicant be paid interest at the rate of seven per cent per annum for the period of delay beyond three months from the time when the payment became due till the date of actual payment, the order said.