PANAJI
The High Court of Bombay at Goa has directed the Chief Officer of the Valpoi Municipal Council to deposit Rs 9,61,648 towards pension arrears in the Registry of the Court on or before March 23, 2026, noting that the amount remains unpaid despite earlier orders.
A Division Bench of Justice Valmiki Menezes and Justice Amit Jamsandekar, in its order passed on Wednesday, recorded that the amount is due and payable to petitioner Mahesh Vaman Manerkar, who approached the court seeking release of his retirement benefits.
Referring to its earlier order dated October 1, 2025, the Bench stated that it had already observed that the Council was liable to pay the petitioner his retirement benefits, including arrears of pension amounting to Rs 9,61,648. The court noted that it is not disputed by the Valpoi Municipal Council that the said amount is due and payable. It therefore directed the Chief Officer to deposit the amount in the Court Registry within the stipulated date.
The direction follows strong observations made by the High Court in its October 1, 2025 order, when it described as a “shocking revelation” that employees of the Valpoi Municipal Council had not received their retirement benefits, including gratuity, since 2016.
The court had recorded the grievance of Manerkar, a driver (Group ‘C’), who superannuated on August 31, 2023. While Rs 10,18,672 had been released in his favour, a balance of Rs 21,94,173 remained unpaid two years after his retirement. The Bench had then asked the Council to verify the statement and explain why the dues were not cleared.
The Bench had also termed the affidavit filed by the Chief Officer a “sorry state of affairs”, as it cited financial constraints and stated that repeated representations had been made to the Director of Municipal Administration seeking funds to clear the retirement dues of the petitioner and other former employees.
