INDUMATI A PATEL Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) the petitioner is a widow. Her husband Shri A. N. Patel died on 29/12/1963 while serving as Deputy Secretary to Government Legal Department. The petitioner being widow of the deceased employee was entitled to family pension as per the revised Pension Rules 1950 Thereafter the aforesaid pension rules were amended by Government Resolution dated 1/01/1972 As per the original pension rules family pension was available to the widow and other dependents of an employee only for a period of ten years after the death of the employee. However by the resolution dated January 1 1972 the pension benefits were made available till life time of the widow. For being entitled to pension beyond the period of ten years the widow of the employee was required to contribute two months salary. But this condition has been later on deleted by a resolution dated 17/10/1977 The aforesaid resolution dated 1/01/1972 has been made applicable to all regular employees on pensionable establishment temporary or permanent who were in service on or after 1/06/1971 This particular part of the resolution i. e. the cut off date of 1/06/1971 is challenged by the petitioner.

(2.) The learned Counsel for the petitioner contends that there is no rational basis whatsoever for making further classification of the dependents of pensioners by introducing the invidious criterion of employees who were in service on or after June 1971 The learned Counsel for the petitioner has relied upon the decision of the Supreme Court in the case of D. S. Nakara and Others v. Union of India AIR 1983 SC 130. In paragraph 49 of the judgment the Supreme Court has observed as follows:

(3.) In the result the petition is required to be allowed. It is hereby declared that the cut-off date namely 1/06/1971 prescribed in the Government Resolution dated January 1 1972 produced at annexure-A to the petition is illegal and void as the same is violative of the provisions of Article 14 of the Constitution of India. It is further directed that the petitioner shall be entitled to claim the benefits flowing from the resolution as if the words who were in service on or after 1/06/1971 were never there in the resolution. The respondents are directed to compute the amount of pension payable to the petitioner in the light of the principles laid down in this judgment latest before 31/12/1986 4 Rule made absolute to the above extent with no order as to costs. Petition allowed; Rub made absolute.