IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB AND HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH C.O.C.P. No. 255 of 2009 Date of Decision : May 28, 2009 Meena ....Petitioner Versus Anurag Rastogi, Director, Secondary Education, Haryana and others .....Respondents CORAM : HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE T.P.S. MANN Present : Mr. Virender Kumar, Advocate Ms. Kirti Singh, Assistant Advocate General, Haryana. T.P.S. MANN, J. (Oral) Vide order dated 16.10.2008, the High Court had directed the respondents to take a final decision in respect of the legal notice submitted by the petitioner on 1.5.2008. Reply has been filed on behalf of respondent No.1 in the Court today, which is taken on record and a copy thereof supplied to learned counsel for the petitioner. It stands mentioned therein that an amount of Rs.53,204/- has already been paid to the petitioner by way of final payment of General Provident Fund in respect of her late husband Zile Singh as there was a nomination made by the deceased employee in favour of the petitioner. The case for the grant of pensionary benefits to the eligible dependents of the deceased was under consideration of the department but, in the meantime, one Smt. Nirmala @ Bimla resident of village Baragaon, Karnal submitted her application dated 28.3.2008 in C.O.C.P. No. 255 of 2009 -2- which she claimed herself to be the legally wedded wife of the deceased government employee. Moreover, Smt. Nirmala @ Bimla has filed a civil suit in the Court of Civil Judge (Senior Division), Karnal regarding her claim for pensionary benefits on account of death of Zile Singh and in the said suit, Principal, Government Senior Secondary School, Karnal has been impleaded as a defendant. Under these circumstances, it was not possible to decide as to who was to be given the benefit of ex gratia financial assistance and other retiral benefits on account of the death of Zile Singh, as neither the petitioner nor Smt. Nirmala Devi had submitted the succession certificate. As and when the legal heir of Zile Singh is determined by the civil Court, the financial assistant and other retiral benefits admissible to the legal heir would be released without delay. Accordingly, the legal notice submitted by the petitioner on 1.5.2008 has been decided by respondent No.2 by passing an order dated 14.3.2009 (Annexure R1). In view of the above, the contempt proceedings are dropped. The respondents are, however, directed that once the question of legal heirs of the deceased government employee is decided by the civil Court, the financial assistance and other retiral benefits admissible to the legal heirs be released without any delay. ( T.P.S. MANN ) May 28, 2009 JUDGE satish