Panchayat Employee’s Pension Cannot Be Denied for Over-age Appointment: Calcutta High Court Decision in Sthaleswar Bera Vs State of West Bengal & ors.

Background of the Dispute

The matter in Sthaleswar Bera Vs State of West Bengal & ors. arose from the denial of pensionary dues to a Gram Panchayat employee on the ground that he had crossed the prescribed upper age limit at the time of his appointment as Panchayat Karmee.

The assessee had initially entered public service as a Tax Collector in Chandrarekha Gram Panchayat on 31 December 1998. Subsequently, the Government of West Bengal, Department of Panchayats and Rural Development, Panchayat Wing, issued a recruitment notification on 24 January 2011 for the post of Panchayat Karmee and other positions.

Under this recruitment scheme, the following key criteria were laid down:

• Candidates had to be at least 18 years old.
• The maximum age permissible was 45 years as on 1 January of the relevant recruitment year.
• There was a specific clause allowing relaxation of the upper age limit for candidates belonging to reserved and special categories, including:
  • Scheduled Castes
  • Scheduled Tribes
  • Other Backward Classes
  • Exempted Category
  • Physically Handicapped persons
  • Ex-servicemen

The assessee, belonging to the Other Backward Class category, applied pursuant to this notification. He was appointed as Gram Panchayat Karmee on 3 May 2013 after going through the prescribed selection process and complying with applicable rules. His joining took place on the basis of the recruitment terms and after scrutiny by the competent authorities.

After attaining the age of superannuation, his pension proposal and related documents were forwarded to the Financial Control and Chief Accounts Officer, Jhargram Zilla Parishad, and thereafter to the Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group Insurance through the designated online portal for final sanction.

However, at this stage, the Director of Pension, Provident Fund and Group Insurance returned the file on 12 November 2025 with the objection that the assessee, being an OBC candidate, had entered service beyond the permissible age limit at the time of his appointment.

This triggered the writ petition, where the assessee sought directions for release of his full retiral dues, including pension, on the ground that his appointment and age had already been considered by the appointing authority and could not be reopened at the stage of retirement benefits.

Core Legal Issue

The main question before the Calcutta High Court was:

Whether the State could legally withhold or deny the assessee’s retiral benefits on the ground that he was over the upper age limit at the time of his appointment as Panchayat Karmee, despite having been appointed pursuant to a valid recruitment process and having rendered continuous service up to superannuation.

In other words, the Court had to determine whether the alleged illegality regarding age at entry into service could be invoked belatedly, after decades of service, to deprive the assessee of pension.

Submissions by the Parties

Assessee’s Contentions

On behalf of the assessee, the following arguments were advanced: