Samapti Chatterjee, J. - (1.) The affidavit of service filed by the learned Advocate for the petitioners in Court today be kept on record.
(2.) The petitioners have filed the present writ petition for a direction upon the respondent no. 2, the Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group Insurance, Government of West Bengal to refund the deducted amount of Rs. 10,717/- with interest at the rate of 18% per annum from the date of retirement of the father of the petitioners till the date of payment and re-fix his/her pension accordingly.
(3.) The petitioners' case in short as follows that the father of the petitioners was an employee of the concerned School. After completion of service, the father of the petitioners retired from service on 31.5.1996 as the father of the petitioners attended the age of superannuation and he died on 7.5.1998. After retirement of the father of the petitioners the concerned authority has prepared the father of the petitioners' papers for pension but the said pension papers were withheld. For the reason, the father of the petitioners has drawn excess amount due to wrong fixation of the father of petitioners' pay scale during his/her service tenure and the authority forced the father of the petitioners to refund the overdrawal amount. It also appears that the concerned authority reduced the father of the petitioners' pay drawn at the time of retirement of the father of the petitioners and calculated the overdrawal amount of Rs. 10,717/-. Thereafter the Pension Payment Order was issued by the Assistant Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group Insurance vide Memo dated 28.12.2001 wherefrom it reveals that the authority had deducted the father of the petitioners' basic pay drawn at the time of retirement and deducted the amount of Rs. 10,717/- from the father of the petitioners' retirement benefits but before deduction no opportunity of hearing as well as notice was ever given to the petitioners for refund. Only after retirement from the Pension Payment Order it is found that Rs. 10,717/- had been deducted from the father of the petitioners' retirement benefits.;