By:Mohan Lal Verma
High Court of Himachal Pradesh today directed the Secretary State Social Welfare Advisory Board, Himachal Pradesh to appear before the Court in person for non-compliance of the orders passed by it.
The Court further directed the respondents to comply with the directions passed by the court in letter and spirit. A Division Bench comprising the Chief Justice Mansoor Ahmad Mir and Justice P.S. Rana passed these orders on a contempt petition filed by one Meera Devi against Ajay Mittal, Principal Secretary, Social justice and Empowerment for non compliance of the order dated 9th October 2014 passed in LPA whereby, the respondents were directed to release the amount of gratuity and leave encashment to the petitioner as per her entitlement and the rules.
The petitioner has alleged in the petition that her husband was working as an Accountant in the office of Child Development Project Officer, Theog who died in harness in year 2008. Since then the petitioner was entitled for it but the board did not release her husband’s gratuity and leave encashment in her favor. Thereafter the petitioner approached the High Court by way of writ petition. In the writ petition the respondent board admitted that due to financial crisis it was not in a position to release the amount of gratuity and leave encashment to the petitioner.
Thereafter the Court directed the state to release grant in her favor to the respondent board, so that claims made by petitioner for retirement gratuity and leave encashments are satisfied. Thereafter the state challenged the orders of the High Court in LPA and whereby the court again directed the respondents to release the dues of the petitioner but that was not done. And once again the petitioner approached the High Court by way of contempt petition and the court directed Raghubir Singh Verma, Secretary, State Social Welfare Advisory Board, Himachal Pradesh to appear before the Court in person for non-compliance of the order.
