C.W.P.No.6287 of 2007 1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF PUNJAB & HARYANA AT CHANDIGARH C.W.P.No.6287 of 2007 Date of Decision : 24.03.2008 Smt.Ratni Devi .....Petitioner versus Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Limited and others .....Respondents CORAM : HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE HEMANT GUPTA HON'BLE MR.JUSTICE MOHINDER PAL Present : Shri R.C.Chatrath, Advocate for the petitioner. Shri Narender Hooda, Advocate for the respondents. -.- 1. Whether Reporters of Local papers may be allowed to see the judgment? 2. To be referred to the Reporters or not? 3. Whether the judgment should be reported in the Digest? JUDGMENT HEMANT GUPTA, J. The petitioner has invoked the extra ordinary writ jurisdiction of this Court seeking directions to the respondents to release the family pension to the petitioner on account of death of her husband. It is the case of the petitioner that her husband Surjan Ram was appointed as Sweeper on work charge basis with the respondents on 1.1.1969. The services of the husband of the petitioner were regularized on 7.10.1980 subject to some terms and conditions. As per the terms and conditions of regularization, the husband of the petitioner was to report on duty after getting himself examined by the Chief Medical Officer. The husband of the petitioner joined the duty on regular basis on 8.10.1980 after getting himself examined by the Chief Medical Officer. C.W.P.No.6287 of 2007 2 The husband of the petitioner died on 4.2.1981 while working as Safai Karamchari (Sweeper) in the office of respondent No.3. After the death of husband of the petitioner, a sum of Rs.780/- was sanctioned to the petitioner as the amount of DCRG/Gratuity, but the family pension was declined to the petitioner on the ground that the deceased husband of the petitioner has served the respondents for less than one year after regularization of his services. The petitioner served a legal notice dated 5.3.2007, Annexure P-6, upon the respondents, but no action has been taken by the respondents for the release of family pension to the petitioner. In reply, it has been pointed out that the family of the deceased employee is not entitled for the benefit of family pension according to the provisions of the Family Pension Scheme, 1964. It has been further pointed out that as per the Family Pension Scheme, 1964, the family pension can be granted to the dependents of the deceased employee if the deceased employee has completed minimum period of one year of continuous service without break. Therefore, the claim of the petitioner for family pension was rightly declined by the respondents vide letter dated 17.8.1983, Annexure R-1. Learned counsel for the petitioner has challenged the action of the respondents for not releasing the family pension to the petitioner, inter- alia, on the ground that the work charge service is to be counted for the pensionary benefits as per the Instructions issued by the Haryana State Electricity Board on 6.8.1993 and 9.8.1994. We have hard learned counsel for the parties. Rule 4 of the Family Pension Scheme, 1964 contemplates ground of family pension C.W.P.No.6287 of 2007 3 where a Government employee completes one year of continues service without break. The note appended to such clause contains the stipulation that the family pension is admissible even before one year continues service, provided the deceased Government employee was examined by the appropriate Medical Authority and declared fit by that Authority for Government service. There is categorical stand of the present petitioner that her husband was medically examined before he joined duties on regular basis. Since the medical examination was a condition of appointment on regular basis, the same must have been complied with. There is presumption of correctness to the official work carried out by the respondents. Still further, the medical examination report cannot be produced by the wife of the deceased employee. The respondents are the custodian of the record. It is not possible to infer that deceased-husband of the petitioner was permitted to join on regularization without medical examination. The Division Bench of this Court in “Civil Writ Petition No.18692 of 2005, titled as Ram Kali Devi Versus Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Limited and others, decided on 15.9.2006” , in identical terms, found that the petitioner fulfills all the conditions of Family Pension Scheme, 1964. In the aforesaid case, Dalel Singh, husband of the petitioner Ram Kali Devi was appointed as a Work charge T-Mate on 14.7.1968. He was later on promoted as Work charge Assistant Lineman in February, 1979. His services were regularized on the post of Assistant Lineman subject to certain terms and conditions. He was asked to report on duty after getting himself examined by the Chief Medical Officer/Civil Surgeon, C.W.P.No.6287 of 2007 4 Sonepat. Dalel Singh joined his duty in February, 1979 after his medical examination. He died on 18.8.1979. The request of the petitioner for family pension was declined which led to filing of the writ petition which was allowed by this Court on 15.9.2006. In view of the facts of the present case, the principles laid down by the Division Bench of this Court in Ram Kali Devi's case (supra) are applicable to the present case in its entirety. Consequently, we dispose of the present writ petition with a directions to the respondents to make the payment of retiral benefits including the family pension, to the petitioner within a period of 3 months from today. If the payments are not made within 3 months from today, the petitioner shall be entitled to interest @ 9% per annum from the date the amount fell due till its payment. With the aforesaid directions, the present writ petition is disposed of. (HEMANT GUPTA) JUDGE 24-03-2008 (MOHINDER PAL) *mohinder JUDGE