CWP No.3580 of 2001 1 IN THE PUNJAB AND HARYANA HIGH COURT AT CHANDIGARH C.W.P No. 3580 of 2001 (O&M) Date of decision : January 14, 2009 Krishana Devi ... Petitioner. Versus Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited and another ... Respondents. *** CORAM : HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE AJAY TEWARI *** Present : Mr. J.S. Maanipur, Advocate for the petitioner. Mr.Hemant Bassi, Advocate for the respondents. *** 1. Whether Reporters of local newspapers 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 ? *** AJAY TEWARI, J This petition has been filed claiming family pension on account of the death of the husband of the petitioner. The husband of the petitioner had joined the erstwhile Haryana State Electricity Board on 5.3.1981 as work charge driver. On 8.2.88 instructions were issued by the erstwhile board laying down that suitable work charge staff may be offered regular appointments with deemed date on 1.1.1988. By this instruction the category of post of the petitioner was not included. However, by CWP No.3580 of 2001 2 subsequent instructions dated 4.7.88 even the category of post of driver was included. The claim of the petitioner for family pension has been denied on the ground that before the issuance of instructions dated 4.7.88 the husband of the petitioner had died on 20.5.1988 and thus he could not be held to be regular. In my opinion this reasoning is fallacious. In a somewhat similar case in CWP No. 18785 of 2007 decided on 28.8.2008 a Division Bench of this Court held that the family of a similarly situated work charge employee who had died could not be denied the benefit of the policies dated 8.2.88 and 4.7.88. Learned counsel for the respondents urges that in that case the person had died after the issuance of instructions dated 4.7.88 whereas it is not so in the present case. In my opinion this distinction is not germane to the issue. What was decided by the Hon'ble Division Bench was that a person who has been deemed to have been regularised we.f. 1.1.1988 could not be denied the claim of having been declared regular merely on the ground of his death before such declaration. In the circumstances this writ petition is allowed. The respondents are directed to consider the case of the husband of the petitioner for regularisation notionally as to whether he would have been eligible to be regularised under the instructions dated 8.2.88 and 4.7.88 and if he was found to be so entitled then the petitioner shall be given family pension in accordance with law. The needful be done within two months from the date of receipt of a certified copy of this order. It is clarified that the arrears would be restricted to a period of 38 months from the date of filing of this CWP No.3580 of 2001 3 petition. It is further directed that the arrears be paid with interest at the rate of 8% p.a. January 14, 2009 ( AJAY TEWARI ) sunita JUDGE