JUDGMENT :

M.R. SHAH, J.

1. Feeling aggrieved and dissatisfied with the impugned judgment and order passed by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in Special Appeal No. 343 of 2021 by which the Division Bench of the High Court has dismissed the said appeal and has confirmed the judgment and order passed by the learned Single Judge directing the appellants-State of U.P. and Others to pay the gratuity to the original writ petitioner on the death of the deceased employee (her husband), the State of U.P. and Others have preferred the present appeal.

2. The facts leading to the present appeal in nutshell are as under:

2.1 That the deceased employee Dr. Vinod Kumar, husband of the original writ petitioner, was working as Lecturer. He joined service on 02.07.2001 and died on 11.08.2009 while in service. The original writ petitioner-wife of the deceased employee applied for payment of gratuity due to her husband, but the same was rejected on the ground that the husband of the petitioner, while in service, had not opted for retirement at the age of 60 years. The original writ petitioner therefore filed the writ appeal before the High Court being Writ Appeal No. 2211 of 2021.

2.2 Relying u