An order for withholding or withdrawing pension can only be passed if the conditions precedent laid down in Rule 43 of the Bihar Pension Rules are fulfilled.

S. B. Sinha, J.-In this application, the petitioner has prayed for punishing the opposite parties under the Contempt of Court Act, 1971 for wilful disobedience of the order dated 4.1.1990 passed by a Division Bench of this Court in C.W. J. C. No. 2163 of 1989 (R).

2. The fact of the matter lies in a very narrow compass.

3. The petitioner on the date of his superannuation, that is 31.8.1980 was posted as Assistant Jailor, Daltonganj at Palamau. According to the petitioner, the pay last drawn by him was Rs. 420/-and he had been receiving a provisional pension of Rs. 304/-only. As despite the fact that the petitioner superannuated in 1980, his pension and other retiral benefits had not been finalised he filed a writ petition in this Court which was registered as C.W.J.C. 2163 of 1989 (R).

4. By an order dated 4.1.1990, this Court passed the following order :-

"The petitioner superannuated with effect from 31.8.80 and his grievance is that he is still getting provisional pension.

Let this case be listed under the same heading after eight weeks.

It is ordered that the concerned respondents shall finalise the case of the petitioner so that authority slip for the payment of arrear pension as well as pension at the amount he is entitled to receive is issued within that time. If the order is not complied with within that time, appropriate action will be taken against the defaulting respondents.

5. The matter again came up before this Court on 2.3.1990 when the following order was passed :-

"It was submitted by Mr. Dubey that his case has not been finalised although ordered by this Court on 4.1.90. The petitioner may file an application for initiating a contempt of court proceeding against the concerned respondent.

Mr. Debi Prasad produced a note of the Accountant General to show that as the State Govt. has not sanctioned the payment of pension, no action on the part of the Accountant General would be taken."

6. The petitioner, thereafter communicated the aforementioned orders dated 4.1.1990 to the cancerned authorities. The Jail Superintendent Palamau also by his letter dated 12.5. 1990 asked the Accountant General to finalise the matter relating to payment of pension. From a perusal of the said letter, however, it appears that therein a request was made to the Accountant General that a sum of Rs. 89522.06 being recoverable from the petitioner the said amount be adjusted from the account of final pension payable to the petitioner by way of his retiral benefits.

7. In this case, separate show causes have been filed by the contemners/opposite parties nos. 2, 3 and 4. Upon perusal of the show cause filed by the Inspector General of Prisons by order dated 1.5.1991, a Division Bench of this Court observed as follows :-

"Today, the Superintendent of Jail Daltonganj and Inspector General Prisons these two officers are present. They have also filed their show cause. The Inspector General Prisons in his show cause has annexed a document marked Annexure A/3 which appears to be pension payment order dated 29.5.1990 which provided (a) payment of pension from 1980 to 1982 at the rate of Rs. 304/-(b) for recovery of a sum of Rs. 89522 and odd and (0) for adjustment of Rs. 804.04 ps. from the pension payment order. The petitioner stated that he has never received this pension payment order nor did he face any proceeding ever after his retirement of these 10 long years. He has been told now that dues of Rs. 89522 and odd stands to his credit. Mr. Roy appearing on behalf of Inspector General, Prisons states that this amount has been fixed by Accountant General and, therefore. Accountant General is the proper person to spell it out. Learned counsel for the petitioner, on the other hand states that last time in the writ application Accountant General appeared and stated that he is unaware of anything since papers were never sent to him. In view of the stand taken in the show cause, we allow the petitioner to add the Accountant General, Bihar as a party to th