The right to receive pension and gratuity is recognized as a property and cannot be deprived except by having recourse to law in view of Article 300-A of the Constitution of India. The power of the State to withhold pension and gratuity must be exercised strictly as per the applicable law, and any withholding of gratuity that violates Article 300-A of the Constitution of India is liable to be interfered with by the court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.

JUDGMENT :

1. Heard Sri Rishi Raj, learned counsel for the petitioner as well as Sri Vivek Kumar Shukla, learned Additional Chief Standing counsel appearing on behalf of the opposite parties.

2. It has been submitted by learned counsel for the petitioner that the petitioner was initially recruited on the post of Sub Inspector on 2.5.1981 and subsequently he has superannuated on 21.12.2014 from the same post while serving at police station Naka, District Lucknow. Despite superannuation he has not been paid his amount of gratuity only on account of the fact that a criminal as registered against him in case crime No.255 of 1996 under Section 394 IPC at police station Naubasta, Kanpur. It is on account of pendency of the said criminal case where charge sheet has been filed in the court of competent jurisdiction on 8.4.1996 and the trial is still underway and only because of pendency of the said criminal case the payment of gratuity has been denied to the petitioner.

3. Learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the law in this regard is well settled by this Court in the case of Udai Narain Ojha Vs. State of U.P. and others, passed in writ A No.27391 of 2012 on 21.1.2020 where this Court taking into consideration the Full Bench decision in the case of Shivagopal VS. State of U.P. and others passed in Special Appeal No.40 of 2017 as well as other provisions of Hon'ble Supreme Court has held as follows:-

"1. Petitioner superannuated on 31.12.2011 from the post of Assistant Sub Inspector (Ministerial) in U.P. Police and is aggrieved by an order dated 28.1.2012, whereby, the amount payable to him towards gratuity has been withheld. This order records that the gratuity is not payable to petitioner. In the counter affidavit filed it is disclosed by the State authorities that a criminal Case No. 1838 of 2007 under Section 409 I.P.C. is pending investigation wherein petitioner is alleged to have embezzled a sum of Rs. 21,596/-and, therefore, the gratuity is rightly withheld. A subsequent counter affidavit is filed wherein it is disclosed that a charge-sheet has been filed against the petitioner on 20.4.2013. The first information report was lodged on 19.9.2007. Criminal trial is, however, pending. According to the respondents, withholding of gratuity in the above noted facts, is as per law. The short question that requires consideration in the present case is as to whether the amount of gratuity payable to retired employee of State could be withheld merely on account of pendency of criminal investigation against him at the time of retirement. The connected issue is whether the charge-sheet filed against the petitioner, subsequently, would justify withholding of gratuity even if the charge relates to a period which dates back to more than 4 years from the date of superannuation?.

2. Payment of gratuity to a government employee is regulated by the provisions of Civil Service Regulations and the U.P. Retirement Benefit Rules, 1961. The provisions in that regard have been noticed recently by a Full Bench of this Court in Special Appeal No. 40 of 2017 (Shivagopal Vs. State of U.P. and others). Para Nos. 15 to 22 and 28 of the Full Bench judgment are relevant for the purposes of deciding the present case and are reproduced:-

"15. A civil servant's claim to pension and gratuity, therefore, is regulated by the Regulations/Rules in force at the time when the officer demits office on attaining the age of superannuation or otherwise from the service of the government.

16. Chapter XVIII of Civil Service Regulations provides for 'Conditions of Grant of Pension'; Section-I to the Chapter provides the classification of pensions. Article 424 reads thus:

"424. Pensions for "Superior and Inferior services" are divided into four classes, the Rules for which are prescribed in the following section of this Chapter :

(a) compensation pensions (See Section II),

(b) invalid pensions (See Section III),

(c) superannuation pensions (See Section IV),

(d) retiring pensions (