High court stays state pension notice to personal assistants

KOLKATA: Calcutta high court on Wednesday stayed a state government notification to stop paying pension to personal assistants (PAs) and confidential assistants (CAs) of the last Left Front government's ministers.
Abdur Rauf, PA to former minister Narendra Nath Dey of the Forward Bloc and nine other former PAs and CAs of ministers moved a writ petition challenging the legality of the state notification dated February 22 this year.Issued by the chief secretary, the notification abolished the West Bengal Special Assistants and Confidential Assistants rule,1996 that provided for payment of pension to PAs and CAs of former ministers.
Responding to the petition, Justice Sambudha Chakraborty issued an ad interim order staying the February 22 notification for the next six weeks. The court fixed the case for hearing after five weeks. The court also directed litigants to the case to exchange affidavits.
Moving the petition, Milon Bhattacharyya counsel for the 10 PAs and CAs, argued that the present government stopped paying pension to PAs and CAs of the last Left Front government's ministers and introduced posts of executive assistants and special executive assistants to offices of present state ministers. The Government fixed their monthly salary at Rs 18,000, the counsel said.