States » EastPosted at: Nov 4 2026 1:10PM


Inter-high court transfer no bar to post-retirement benefits, rules Orissa HC

Bhubaneswar, Nov 4 (UNI) Observing that post-retirement facilities are not favours or concessions but legitimate support to ensure dignity after years of public service, the Orissa High Court has held that retired Justice Chitta Ranjan Dash is entitled to post-retirement allowances from the Odisha Government despite having retired from the Calcutta High Court following his transfer there.
A Division Bench of Justices S K Panigrahi and Murahari Sri Raman set aside the State Government's order restricting his benefits to medical facilities, holding that transfer to another High Court cannot, by itself, extinguish entitlement to post-retirement benefits from the parent High Court.
Justice Dash was elevated to the Orissa High Court on October 7, 2009, transferred to the Calcutta High Court in June 2022, and retired on May 20, 2024. Before retirement, he had opted to avail post-retirement facilities through his parent High Court. However, the State sanctioned only medical benefits, denying allowances for domestic help, driver, secretarial assistance, security, and telephone facilities.
Challenging the decision, his counsel, Prafulla Kumar Rath, argued that the transfer did not sever his entitlement to benefits available to retired Judges of the Orissa High Court. The condition prohibiting similar benefits from another High Court was intended to prevent duplication, not to disqualify transferred Judges.
Opposing the plea, the State Government contended that Justice Dash, having retired from the Calcutta High Court, was ineligible for benefits under Odisha's scheme.
Rejecting the State's stand, the Bench observed that transfer between High Courts is an incident of judicial service and cannot be a ground to deny post-retirement benefits unless the governing scheme expressly provides for such exclusion.
The Bench noted that the State's April 24, 2025 notification provides Rs 45,000 per month towards domestic help and driver expenses and Rs 15,000 towards telephone, internet, secretarial and security services, with an annual enhancement of five per cent.
The Court held that Justice Dash could avail these benefits from Odisha, provided he was not receiving similar facilities from the Calcutta High Court or any other High Court. Accordingly, the Bench set aside the Home Department's order insofar as it denied the other allowances.
UNI MK RSA
Tags: #Inter-high court transfer no bar to post-retirement benefits# rules Orissa HC
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