IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT : THE HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE ANTONY DOMINIC MONDAY, THE 19TH SEPTEMBER 2011 / 28TH BHADRA 1933 WP(C).No. 22856 of 2011(F) -------------------------- PETITIONER(S): ---------------------- C.V.REMANI, D/O. C.V.KARTHIAYANI @ KARTHIYANI AMMA (LATE), VADAKKE CHEMBRA HOUSE, KULAPPULLY, SHORANUR-II VILLAGE, OTTAPALAM TALUK, PALAKKAD DISTRICT. BY ADV. SRI.K.P.SUDHEER RESPONDENT(S): ----------------------- 1. THE CHIEF MANAGER, STATE BANK OF INDIA, CENTRAL PENSION PROCESSING CENTRE, GANAPATHI KOVIL ROAD, VAZHUTHACAUD-695033, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM. 2. STATE BANK OF INDIA, REPRESENTED BY ITS CHIEF MANAGER, SHORANUR-679 121. 3. THE STATE OF KERALA, REPRESENTED BY ITS CHIEF SECRETARY, GOVERNMENT SECRETARIAT, THIRUVANANTHAPURAM-695 001. SRI.P.V.SURENDRANATH, SC FOR BANK THIS WRIT PETITION (CIVIL) HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 19/09/2011, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: WPC NO.22856/11 APPENDIX PETITIONER'S EXHIBITS EXT.P1: TRUE COPY OF THE JUDGMENT DATED 13.11.2002 IN OP NO.5128 OF 2001 PASSED BY THIS HON'BLE COURT. EXT.P2: TRUE COPY OF LAWYER NOTICE DATED 28.6.11 ISSUED ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONER TO THE RESPONDENTS 1 AND 2. EXT.P3: TRUE COPY OF REPLY NOTICE DT 23.7.11 ISSUED BY THE 1ST RESPONDENT. //TRUE COPY// P.A. TO JUDGE Rp ANTONY DOMINIC, J. ================ W.P.(C) NO. 22856 OF 2011 ===================== Dated this the 19th day of September, 2011 J U D G M E N T Petitioner claims to be the guardian of her sister C.V.Syamala, a mentally retarded person. On the death of Smt.C.V.Karthiayani, the mother of the petitioner and the ward above named, the ward above named became eligible for family pension. According to the petitioner, the family pension due to the ward was credited in the petitioner's account till 1/8/2007 and has been discontinued thereafter. It is stated that despite various requests and production of necessary documents substantiating her claim to have the amount credited, the Bank do not concede to the request and it is therefore the writ petition is filed with the following prayer. “(i) issue a writ of mandamus or other appropriate writ, order or direction directing the 1st and 2nd respondents to immediately credit the entire amounts due to C.V.Syamala to be credited to the Savings Bank Account No.103547609956 with interest forthwith”. 2. Standing counsel appearing for the respondents on instruction submits that even going by the petitioner's own averments, the discontinuation was with effect from 1/8/2007. It is stated that subsequently, the pension payments were WPC No. 22856/11 :2 : centralised at Trivandrum and all documents available in the Bank were transferred to the said office. It is stated that now that a complaint has been made by the petitioner, attempt is being made to search out the documents pertaining to the claim of the petitioner and that once the documents are retrieved, the claim of the petitioner will be duly examined and processed. It is also suggested that if the petitioner has any document available with her enabling the Bank to retrieve its documents, that will help the Bank to expedite the process. 3. From the above, therefore, it is obvious that the Bank is not disputing the eligibility of the petitioner or the aforesaid ward for getting the family pension credited as claimed. On the other hand, the difficulty appears to be the misplacement of the documents. In that view of the matter, if the petitioner has any document enabling the Bank to retrieve the documents expeditiously, it will be open to the petitioner to produce the same before the 2nd respondent and thereupon respondents 1 and 2 shall ensure that the documents are retrieved and the claim is settled on an expeditious basis and at any rate within four weeks thereafter. It is directed that, if the aforesaid course does not WPC No. 22856/11 :3 : materialise, respondents 1 and 2 will take expeditious steps to retrieve the documents and settle the claim, which shall be done at any rate within 3 months of production of a copy of this judgment. Writ petition is disposed of as above. ANTONY DOMINIC, JUDGE Rp