Calcutta, Aug. 12: Calcutta High Court today asked the secretary of the governor to produce all documents relating to the statutory dues of K.N Chatterjee, a former vice chancellor of North Bengal University who retired in 1991 and died five years later without getting his pension.

Justice Soumitra Pal of the high court told the secretary to produce the documents before him on or before September 15. The governor is the chancellor of the varsity and Chatterjee had made representations to several of them for their intervention in the matter.

“It is a matter of surprise that even a vice-chancellor of a state university did not get his pension in time,” the judge said while passing the interim order, which followed a petition by Chatterjee’s widow, Nilima.

The widow, a resident of Niva Park at Garia, Calcutta, told the court in the petition that her husband had served three different universities.

“He had joined as a lecturer of Sanskrit in Visva Bharati, Santitikatan. After that, he joined Rabindra Bharati University in Calcutta. Then he was appointed a professor in Varansi Hindu University, where he served for three years. Finally, Chatterjee was appointed vice-chancellor of North Bengal University from where he retired in 1991,” the petition said.

“After his retirement, Chatterjee had made several representations to different governors of the state, asking them to ensure that his pension and other statutory dues were released. Only Professor Nurul Hassan had replied in 1993, saying he would ask the state government to take necessary steps,” Nilima’s lawyer said.

However, even after that, the government did nothing, the lawyer said. “In 1996, Chatterjee died and his widow moved from pillars to post for her husband’s pension, but that, too, yielded no result. The situation prompted her to knock at the doors of the judiciary,” he added.

The Varansi Hindu University, Rabindra Bharati University and Visva Bharati have been made respondents in the case.

Appearing for Rabindra Bharati University, advocate Subrata Mukhopadhaya said: “The North Bengal University should also be made a party to the case.”

After hearing all the sides, the judge passed the interim order.