TAPEN SEN, J. - (1.) HEARD Mr. Nawal Kishore, learned counsel for the petitioner and Mr. A.K. Mehta, learned SC -I for the respondents.
(2.) PURSUANT to the order this Court passed on 7.1.2003, the Deputy Commissioner -cum -Settlement Officer, Ranchi is present in Court alongwith the Treasury Officer, Gumla. The Deputy Commissioner, Mr. Jai Shankar Tiwari has submitted that he has joined Ranchi only in September, 2002 but the moment he came to know about this matter he immediately took action. Learned counsel for the petitioner also submits that from a perusal of the show cause filed by the Treasury Officer, Gumla it would be apparent that the amounts due to the petitioner have now been calculated towards arrears of pension and that a sum of Rs. 1,000/ - towards gratuity after adjusting provisional payments made by the department has been found payable.
(3.) THIS Court appreciates the swift action initiated by the present Deputy Commissioner but does not appreciate the lethargy shown by other officers who did not take any step towards mitigating the grievances of the writ petitioner as a result whereof he was forced to run from post to pillar and pillar to post since 1998. Inaction is writ large in this case. It violates constitutional safeguards. The State and its Officers are expected to act with all expedition especially when they are dealing with the rights of citizens of India. Pensionary benefits are rights and are not charity which are doled out at the mercy of the State Officers.;