Dr. Raman Preet Grover v. Municipal Corporation of Delhi

1. This writ petition assails an order passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal[1] by which, while directing grant of payment of delayed retiral benefits to the concerned petitioner, the Tribunal has awarded interest only from the expiry of three months from the passing of the order, @ 7.5% from expiry of three months till the expiry of six months and @ 12% thereafter till the date of payment.

2. Aggrieved thereby and contending that the petitioner would be entitled to interest from the date of their superannuation, this writ W.P.(C) 3053/2025 petition has been filed.

3. We have had occasion to decide an identical matter in WP(C) 15561/2024[2].

4. We have held, in the said decision, following our earlier judgment in MCD v Bijender Singh[3], that a retired employee who has not been disbursed retiral benefits would be entitled to interest from the date of retirement.

5. As such, we modify the order passed by the Tribunal by holding that the interest at the rate of 7.5% would be reckoned from the date of the petitioners’ superannuation, and not from the expiry of three months from the order of the Tribunal, till the date when the principal amount of the retiral dues was/is paid. We clarify that the direction for increase in the rate of interest to 12% p.a., in the event the amount is not/has not been paid before the expiry of six months from the date of the judgement of the Tribunal, stands as it is.

6. The writ petition stands allowed accordingly.

C.HARI SHANKAR, J. AJAY DIGPAUL, J. MARCH 12, 2025 Click here to check corrigendum, if any “the Tribunal” hereinafter Dr Priya Vrata v MCD.