HIGH COURT OF UTTARAKHAND

AT NAINITAL

Writ Petition (S/S) No. 1445 of 2018

Pooran Chandra Joshi

…

Petitioner

Vs.

State of Uttarakhand through Secretary,

Forest and others

… Respondents

Advocate:

Mr. Dinesh Gahatori, Advocate, for the petitioner

Mrs.

Anjali

Bhargava,

Addl.

CSC,

for

the

State

of

Uttarakhand/respondent Nos. 1 to 4

Mrs. Monika Pant, Standing Counsel, for the Union of India/respondent

Nos. 5 & 6

Hon’ble Sharad Kumar Sharma, J.

The petitioner before this Court, is at a very ripe age

of his life now, having attained almost 91 years of age. The

petitioner is contesting a judicial war for pressing his

personal rights for the return of NSC/NDC certificates,

amounting to Rs. 300/- which he had submitted at the time

of getting an appointment with the Forest Department,

where he was inducted into the services on 1st October

1957, wherein he had pledged the aforesaid NDC

certificates, as a security for the purposes of procuring his

appointment.

2.

With the passage of time, the petitioner had attained

the age of superannuation having retired from his services

on 31st March 1990.

3.

The grievances of the petitioner as agitated in the

present writ petition are that though despite having

satisfactorily rendered his services, ever since his initial

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induction in 1957 and having attained the age of

superannuation as back as in 1990, the NDC certificates,

which he had pledged as a security for the purposes of his

recruitment on 29th June 1964, had not been returned back

to him along with the interest payable on it, hence the

present writ petition.

4.

When the writ petition was entertained, respondents

were noticed; asking them to show-cause as to why the

amount, which had been pledged by the petitioner way

back in 1964, was not returned to him after his attainment

of age of superannuation.

5.

In order to fortify the aforesaid facts, with regard to

the act and conduct of the respondents, this Court, by an

order dated 5th September 2018, the part of which is

extended hereunder, called upon the respondents as to why

they have not complied the order dated 23^rd August 2018

which was passed by the co-ordinate Bench of this Court,

that the payment of the matured NDC certificates, why the

same has not been remitted to the petitioner. The relevant

part is extracted hereunder:-

“This Court, as a last opportunity and with a warning to

the authority, if the order dated 23^rd August, 2018 is

not complied with in its strict sense and the passbooks

are not produced before this Court after making the

complete up-to-date entry along with interest

computed on it w.e.f. 1964, the respondent No. 4 will

appear in person on 10^th September, 2018 before this

Court.”

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6.

The officer appeared before the Court. He produced

the requisite documents with regard to the NDC certificates

i.e. deposits made by the petitioner on 29th February 1964,

but, however, the passbook and the entries, which were

made in it with regard to the interest, which had accrued on

the said amount thus deposited, was not produced.

7.

The matter was taken up today. Learned counsel for

the respondent /Postal Department i.e. responded Nos. 5

and 6 herein, who are represented by Mrs. Monika Pant,

learned Sanding Counsel, in order to justify the reasoning

which contributed for non-refund of the NDC certificates,

has made reference to the Rules called as “The Post Office

Savings Certificates Rules, 1960”, which was notified by the

Government of India, Ministry of Finance vide its

Notification dated 25th June 1960, which was amended

from time to time.

8.

She submitted that in accordance with the Rules

particularly that contained under Rule 24, any investor, who

has been issued with an NDC certificate of investments,

made with the Postal Department, he or she has to

approach before the Postal Department for the purposes to

receive