Ashok Kumar Mishra and 3 Others v. Union of India Thru. Secy. Ministry Communication, and 2 Others

Court No. - 7 Case :- WRIT - A No. - 8137 of 2023 Petitioner :- Ashok Kumar Mishra And 3 Others Respondent :- Union Of India Thru. Secy. Ministry Communication, And 2 Others Counsel for Petitioner :- Prashant Chandra,Abhay Kumar Ojha Counsel for Respondent :- A.S.G.I.,Satya Prakash Tiwari Hon'ble Abdul Moin,J.

¶1Heard learned counsel for the petitioners; Shri Anand Dwivedi, learned counsel appearing for respondent no.1/Union of India and Ms. Nidhi Singh, learned counsel holding brief of Sri S.P. Tiwari, learned counsel appearing for respondents no. 2 & 3.

¶2With the consent of learned counsel appearing for the contesting parties, the writ petition is being finally decided.

¶3Contention of learned counsel for the petitioners is that although the petitioners have been paid the leave encashment, the interest on delay has not been paid and thus, he is entitled to interest from the date of retirement till actual payment.

¶4Learned counsel for the respondent argues that a circular has been issued by respondent no.2 saying that no interest shall be paid on the delayed payment of leave encashment as it is not a statutory payment.

¶5In the light of the said, learned counsel for the respondent argues that no interest is payable as demanded by the petitioners.

¶6Learned counsel for the petitioners places reliance on the judgment of this Court in the case of Nand Lal v. Indian Telephone Industries Limited and 2 Ors. (Writ - A No.31490 of 2016) decided on 09.03.2018 wherein a similar issue was considered and decided by this Court and the interest was held to be payable on account of delay.

¶7Considering the fact that the decision has been taken only on the ground that the dues of leave encashment are not statutory dues, as such, no interest is payable, the same is liable to be rejected on the simple analogy that interest is a natural accreditation of capital. Even otherwise, the payment of leave encashment flows out of the decisions taken and thus, cannot be said that it has no flavour of statutory enactment.

¶8Thus, following the judgment in the case of Nand Lal (Supra), the writ petition is allowed.

¶9Respondents are directed to ensure payment of interest at the rate of 7% per annum on the leave encashment from the date of retirement till actual payment/ realization.

¶10The said interest shall be paid to the petitioners within a period of four months. Order Date :- 18.10.2023 J.K. Dinkar High Court of Judicature at Allahabad, Lucknow Bench