IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH

215 Date of decision : 10.02.2026 Dr. Atma Singh Bhatti ..…Petitioner V/S State of Punjab and another ....Respondents CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE NAMIT KUMAR Present: Ms. Dheerja, Advocate for the petitioner as Amicus Curiae.

Mr. Swapan Shorey, D.A.G., Punjab.

****

NAMIT KUMAR , J. (ORAL)

1. The petitioner has filed the instant writ petition under Articles 226 of the Constitution of India, seeking issuance of a writ of mandamus, directing the respondents to pay interest @ 18% per annum on the delayed payment of retiral benefits of the petitioner.

2. Brief facts of the case, as have been pleaded in the petition, are that the petitioner was a member of the Punjab Veterinary Service Class-I and was posted as Assistant Director, Animal Husbandry, Medical Store, Jalandhar at the time of his retirement. He retired from service, on attaining the age of superannuation, on 30.04.1999 after rendering 33 years of service with unblemished record. However, the respondent-department had released the retiral benefits of the petitioner after a considerable delay ranging from 7 to 19 months without any fault of the petitioner. The petitioner approache