A retired district judge had to move Gujarat High Court to get his 16-year-old allowance claim settled, after the legal department rejected it despite the high court administration clearing it.
It is common for citizens to face innumerable forms of harassment at the hands of government officials in the name of bureaucracy while trying to claim their dues and allowances, but one does not expect a judge to be meted the same treatment. A retired district judge had to move Gujarat High Court to get his 16-year-old allowance claim settled, after the legal department rejected it despite the high court administration clearing it.
The lackadaisical approach of the state government irked the high court so much that the division bench of Acting Chief Justice AS Dave and Justice Biren Vaishnav was compelled to say "Entitlement of travel allowance of a judicial officer – which remained pending for so many years and was finally rejected by respondent no. 1 (state government's legal department) – reveals a sorry state of affairs." The bench directed the state government to clear the Travelling Allowance (TA) and Dearness Allowance (DA) within three weeks, subject to the outcome of the case.
MS Shaikh was an additional sessions judge in Mehsana, when he was directed to attend the circuit court in Patan between May 2000 and May 2002. He did so for 29 days each month and submitted the TA and DA bill to Mehsana district court, which referred it to the high court on the administrative side. The latter cleared the TA bill in 2003 and directed the Accounts and Treasury department's director to clear it along with Shaikh's HRA bill.
Then, the principal district judge (Mehsana) prepared the TA and DA bill of Rs 68,148 and submitted it to the district treasury office in March 2013. However, it raised certain objections and the principal district judge wrote a letter to the secretary, legal department, to clear the bill. The DA bill was cleared in December 2012. The matter remained pending till 2017 and eventually, the bills were rejected on the ground of delay of over a decade, forcing Shaikh to petition the high court.
He claimed that there was no delay on his part. The court has scheduled the next hearing for July 24.
16-year wait
- The additional sessions judge was directed to attend circuit court in Patan between May 2000-May 2002
- His Travel and Dearness Allowance bill came up to Rs 68,148 was submitted in 2003
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