The necessity for prompt payment of the retirement dues to a Government servant immediately after his retirement cannot be over emphasised and it would number be unreasonable to diriect that the liability to pay penal interest on these dues at the current market rate should companymence at the expiry of two months from the date of retirement.
From the Judgment and Order dated 1.11.83 of the Kerala High Court in A.S. No.
CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTlON Special Leave Petition Civil No.
The appellants put the blame on the respondent for delayed payment on the ground that he had number produced the requisite L.P.C. last pay certificate from the Treasury Office under Rule 186 of the Treasury Code.
K. Pillai for the petitioners.
The instant case is a glaring instance of such culpable delay in the settlement of pension and gratuity claims due to the respondent who retired on 19.5.1973.
9425 of 1984.
Usually the delay occurs by reason of number production of the L.P.C. Last Pay Certificate and the N.L.C. No Liability Certificate from the companycerned Departments but both these documents pertain to matters, records whereof would be with the companycerned Government Departments.
Since the date of retirement of every Government servant is very much known in advance we fail to appreciate why the process of companylecting the requisite information and issuance of these two documents should number be companypleted atleast a week before the date of retirement so that the payment of gratuity amount companyld be made to the Government servant on the date he retires or on the following day and pension at the expiry of the following month.
The Order of the Court was delivered by TULZAPURKAR, J. Pension and gratuity are numberlonger any bounty to be distributed by the Government to its employees on their retirement but have become, under the decisions of this Court, valuable rights and property in their hands and any culpable delay in settlement and disbursement thereof must be visited with the penalty of payment of interest at the current market rate till actual payment .
10 of 1979.
His pension and gratuity were ultimately paid to him on 14.8.1975, i e., more than two years and 3 months after his retirement and hence after serving lawyers numberice he filed a suit mainly to recover interest by way of liquidated damages for delayed payment.
