JUDGMENT :

SUNEET KUMAR, J.

1. We have heard Sri Ram Kishore Gupta on behalf of the appellants and Sri Shashank Shekhar Singh, Additional Chief Standing Counsel for the respondents.

2. The written submission of Sri B.N. Singh Rathore has also been considered.

3. In the batch of writ petitions the controversy involved is with regard to entitlement of the government servant to receive Death-cum-Retirement gratuity on superannuation or otherwise pending judicial proceedings.

4. Petitioners are government employees (Lekhpal/Police Officials), who have retired on attaining the age of superannuation, and by the impugned orders, their full pension and gratuity has been kept in abeyance pending judicial proceedings against them. The petitioners have sought quashing of the impugned orders declining full pension and gratuity during pendency of the judicial proceedings and further have sought an additional direction to the respondent-authority to release/pay full pension and gratuity on the plea that pension and gratuity cannot be withheld during pendency of the judicial proceedings or that the allegations/charge do not pertain to grave misconduct/serious crime or having caused pecuniary loss.

5. T