Authority: Calcutta High Court, Constitutional Writ Jurisdiction (Appellate Side)

Order Date: 13 August 2026

Case Overview

  • Parties: Petitioner Sunil Kumar Das, a retired employee of the Calcutta State Transport Corporation (CSTC); Respondents: State of West Bengal, CSTC and other officials.
  • Nature of Proceeding: Writ Petition (WPA 19817 of 2026) challenging the omission of the dearness allowance (DA) component from the pension received by the petitioner.
  • Background: The petitioner retired on 31 May 2024 upon attaining the normal age of superannuation. He alleged that his pension did not include the DA component. The Court previously decided the applicability of DA in pensionable gratuity for retired CSTC employees in WPA 29126 of 2024 (Prosun Talukdar & Ors. Vs. State of West Bengal & Ors.), holding that retired employees are entitled to receive gratuity and pension inclusive of DA as per memoranda dated 4 September 2025 and 14 January 2026.
  • Court’s Reasoning: The Court relied on the Prosun Talukdar order, noting that the memoranda issued by the Transport Department, Government of West Bengal, expressly provide for the inclusion of DA in pension and gratuity for retired employees. Accordingly, the Court directed the Managing Director of CSTC to implement the same relief for the petitioner.

Final Outcome

  • The Managing Director of the Calcutta State Transport Corporation is directed to disburse the dearness allowance component of the petitioner’s pension within twelve weeks from the date of communication of this order.
  • If required, the State authorities shall provide the necessary funds to CSTC to facilitate the disbursement.
  • No order as to costs.
  • An urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, shall be given to the parties on a priority basis.

Topics: Pension, Dearness Allowance, Transport