The right to receive pension and retirement benefits is a valuable right vested in a government servant, protected under Article 300-A of the Constitution of India. The court emphasized that the payment of pension and retirement benefits is governed by legislative rules and cannot be withheld without a finding of guilt in a departmental or judicial proceeding.

JUDGMENT

Manish Choudhury, J. - By this writ petition preferred under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has approached this Court seeking a direction to the respondent authorities for disbursement of her retirement benefits which the respondent authorities stated to have been withhold.

2. The background facts, in brief, which are necessary for the purpose adjudication of this writ petition are exposited as follows : the petitioner was a member of the Assam Civil Service (ACS) and she retired from service on 28.02.2013 on reaching the age of superannuation from the post of Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in the Cachar Zilla Parashid.

2.1. After the retirement of the petitioner on 28.02.2013, two criminal cases -Silchar Police Station Case no. 714/2013 and Silchar Police Case no. 776/2013 came to be registered in Silchar Police Station wherein the petitioner was named as one of the accused persons. Both the cases were registered on the basis of First Information Report (FIR)/complaint lodged by two different private persons.

2.2. One Sri Fokrul Islam Laskar, representing himself to be the General Secretary of a registered NGO filed a complaint before the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Cachar, Silchar wherein he named four persons including the petitioner, as accused. The complaint was registered as Complaint Case no. 316/2013 and the learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Cachar, Silchar forwarded the said complaint to the Officer In-Charge under Section 156(3), Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 ('the Code', and/or 'CrPC', for short) to cause investigation after registering a case. On receipt of the said complaint and treating it as the FIR, the Officer In-Charge, Silchar Police Station registered a case being Silchar Police Station Case no. 714/2013 (G.R. Case no. 1257/2013) under Sections 120B/409/420/468/471/477-A/34, Indian Penal Code (IPC) on 07.04.2013 and initiated an investigation.

2.3. One Sri Muktadir Hussain Laskar, a resident of Cachar district also filed a complaint before the Court of learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Cachar, Silchar naming four persons including the petitioner, as accused therein. On receipt of the said complaint, it was registered as Complaint Case no. 328/2013. The learned Chief Judicial Magistrate, Cachar, Silchar also forwarded the said complaint to the Officer In-Charge, Cachar, Silchar under Section 156(3), CrPC for registering a case and to cause investigation. On receipt of the same and treating it as the FIR, the Officer In-Charge, Silchar Police Station registered a case being Silchar Police Station Case no. 776/2013 (G.R. Case no. 1360/2013) for offences punishable under Sections 120B/406/408/409/419/ 420/466/468/34, IPC on 14.04.2013.

2.4. In the aforesaid two cases, two accused persons named therein which includes the petitioner, are common while the other two accused persons are different. All the accused persons were/are, however, employees under the Cachar Zilla Parishad. The allegations in both the FIRs are regarding alleged misappropriation, cheating, forgery, etc. in respect of huge amount of fund by the accused persons when the petitioner was serving as the Chief Executive Officer in the Cachar Zilla Parishad.

2.5. Another criminal case being Silchar Police Station Case no. 738/2013 (G.R. Case no. 1300/2013) came to be registered on 10.04.2013 on the basis of an FIR dated 09.04.2013 lodged at the instance of the Chief Executive Officer In-Charge, Cachar Zilla Parishad, Silchar. The said case has been registered under Sections 120B/406/409/420/468/471, IPC read with Sections 7/13(1)(c)/13(1)(d)(ii)/13(2), Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 wherein also allegations of misappropriation, cheating, forgery, criminal misconduct, etc. have been levelled against a number of employees of the Cachar Zilla Parishad including the petitioner.

2.6. Apprehending her arrest in connection with the aforesaid three criminal cases, the petitioner approached this Court by three applic