Pension is a vested right of an employee and not a bounty; employees who complete a total eligible service of 8 years (including converted daily wage service) are entitled to pensionary benefits regardless of pending curative petitions against the governing precedent.

Jiya Lal Bhardwaj, Judge

(Oral)

The petitioner by way of present petition is seeking directions to the respondents to grant family pension to her w.e.f. 01.01.2018, on the ground that her husband was engaged on daily wage basis with the respondents-State in the year 1981, who was later on brought on regular/work charge establishment on 01.01.1994 and after rendering regular service of 7 years and 3 months, he was retired from service on 31.03.2001.

Earlier when the petitioner was not granted the pensionary benefits in lieu of services rendered by her husband, she had approached the erstwhile Himachal Pradesh Administrative Tribunal (for short ‘the Tribunal’) by way of OA No.1682 of 2018, for grant of pensHion in terms of the judgment passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Civil Appeal No.6309 of 2017, titled, Sunder Singh vs. The State of Himachal Pradesh & Ors., and connected matters, and same was disposed of on 11.04.2018, directing the respondents to consider the case of her husband in terms of the decision passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Sunder Singh’s case (supra), and in case, on verification, it is found that late husband of the petihtioner is similarly situate, benefit of the said order shall also be extended to her along with consequential benefits within three months from the date of production of certified copy of the order. In sequel to the said directions given by the Tribunal, respondent No.2 had passed an ofÏce order on 19.01.2019, stating that husband of the petitioner was granted the work charge status on completion of 10 years of service and other benefits under the Mool Raj Upadhyaya’s judgment w.e.f. 01.01.1994 and all the consequential benefits i.e. gratuity and leave encashment. However, it was observed that as per the judgment passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Sunder Singh’s case (supra), daily wage service of five years will be treated as one year of regular service for pension, but iHf on that basis the services of an employee are more than 8 years, but less than 10 years, his services will be reckoned as ten years. But despite that the petitioner has not been granted the pension, though it has beetn noticed in the order that the regular service of the husband of the petitioner was 7 years and 3 months and daily wage services of 10 years, which will be treated as 2 years and thus, the total service reckoned comes to 9 years and 3 months.

The petitioner has claimed in the present petition that since the husband of the petitioner had completed more than 8 years’ service including the daily wage services, she was entitled to pension on the basis of the decision in Sunder Singh’s case (supra)

Respondents No.1 to 3 filed reply to the petition and averred that since husband of the petitioner had rendered total regular service of 7 years and 3 months and 10 years on daily wage basis, the total service rendered by her husband comes to 9 years and 3 months. Though in the judgment of Sunder Singh’s case (supra), it has been held that if both the components take the total length of service more than 8 years, but less than 10 years, as per interpretation of para No.6 of Sunder Singh’s case (supra), the respondents had filed a review petition which has been dismissed on 04.03.2024. After the dismissal of the review petition, respondents-State have filed a Curative Petition vide diary No.4370t2 of 2025, which is still pending adjudication.

I have heard the learned counsel for the parties and also perused the case file carefully.

It is not in dispute that the husband of the petihtioner had rendered 7 years and 3 months service on regular basis and further 10 years’ service on daily wage basis. As per the dictum passed by the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Sunder Singh’s case (supra), if an employee has rendered 6 years regular service and 10 years on daily wage basis, which is to be considered of 2 years’ service, thereby completing 8 years regular service, he is entitl