IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH Date of Decision: 21.09.2011 1) CWP No. 14857 of 2010 Jagbir Singh Retd. Inspector ...Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others ..Respondents. 2) CWP No. 14934 of 2010 Jagbir Singh Retd. Inspector ...Petitioner Versus State of Punjab and others ..Respondents. CORAM: HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SURYA KANT Present : Mr. R.C.Chaudhary, Advocate, for the petitioner. Mr. B.S.Chahal, Deputy Advocate General, Punjab for the respondents **** SURYA KANT, J.(Oral) Both these writ petitions involve common questions of law and facts, hence are being disposed of by a common order. For brevity, the facts are taken from Civil Writ Petition No. 14857 of 2010. Petitioner is a retired Inspector from the Cooperative Department, Punjab. He has submitted two medical bills separately for reimbursement, namely, one pertaining to his unmarried daughter to the tune of ` 9780/- and other for a sum of ` 2,50,655/- incurred on the treatment of his wife who was operated of coronary artery Bye Pass Grafting in Ludhiana Medicity Hospital on 4.2.2008. While in the first case, reply/affidavit has been filed to the effect that a sum of ` 6140/- as medical reimbursement has been sanctioned, the reply/affidavit filed by the respondents in the second CWP No. 14857 of 2010 [2] case states that a letter sanctioning a sum of ` 1,97,778/- has been sent to the Department of the petitioner. It is obvious that no payment has been made to the petitioner so far and necessary sanctions have also been accorded only after filing of these petitions. A retired employee has been forced to approach this court for reimbursement of medical expenditure incurred by him way back in the year 2008 or even prior thereto. Least to say it is a case of grossest negligence on the part of the officials concerned who forced a retiree to run from pillar to post for reimbursement of his medical claims to which he is entitled to under the Government policies. In these circumstances, both the writ petitions are allowed to the extent that the sanctioned amount of medical bills alongwith interest at the rate of 9% per annum from the date of submission of the medical bills till actual realization thereof is directed to be released to the petitioner within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order. In addition, the petitioner shall be entitled to costs of Rs. 5000/- recoverable from those officers/officials who are responsible for the delay caused in the release of sanctioning of the medical claim(s). The amount of costs as well as interest shall be paid to the petitioner within a period of two months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order and a compliance report/affidavit to this effect shall be filed by the respondents. Registry is directed that in case no compliance report or affidavit is filed by the respondents, the petition shall be listed for suo-moto contempt proceedings. Dasti. 21.09.2011 (SURYA KANT) 'ravinder' JUDGE