Atul Kumar Shukla vs State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. ...
2022 Latest Caselaw 10253 ALL

HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD, LUCKNOW BENCH
 
 

?Court No. - 4
 

 
Case :- WRIT - A No. - 5097 of 2022
 

 
Petitioner :- Atul Kumar Shukla
 
Respondent :- State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Basic Edu. Govt. U.P. Civil Secrett. Lucknow And 3 Others
 
Counsel for Petitioner :- Durga Prasad Shukla
 
Counsel for Respondent :- C.S.C.,Shivam Sharma
 

 
Hon'ble Rakesh Srivastava,J. 

Heard Sri Durga Prasad Shukla, learned counsel for the Petitioner, Sri Sandeep Chandra, learned Standing Counsel for the Respondents 1 and 2 and Sri Shivam Sharma, learned counsel for Respondents 3 and 4.

Briefly stated case of the Petitioner is that his wife Late Riwa Dwivedi had joined the post of Assistant Teacher on 05.11.2015 and she had died on 21.04.2021. The Petitioner applied for payment of gratuity after death of his wife but no action was taken on his representations. It is stated that the authorities orally informed the Petitioner that his wife Late Riwa Dwivedi had not exercised her option for retirement on attaining the age of 60 years and therefore, he is not entitled for payment of gratuity.

Learned counsel for the Petitioner has placed reliance on a judgment of this Court rendered in the case of Anoop Kumar Vs. State of U.P. & others, 2018 ADJ 63 wherein after relying upon various earlier decisions, this Court held that for rejection of the Petitioner's claim of payment of gratuity on the ground that the employee had not exercised his option, is not sustainable in law and, accordingly, the order of rejection was quashed and the authorities were directed to consider the claim of the Petitioner for payment of gratuity afresh, which shall not be rejected on the ground that the Petitioner's husband had not exercised his option. The aforesaid decisions has been followed by a Co-ordinate Bench of this Court in the judgment and order dated 02.06.2022 passed in Writ A No. 3410 of 2022.

Accordingly, keeping in view the proposition of law laid down as in the aforesaid case, the instant writ petition also deserves to be allowed.

Consequently, the Writ Petition is allowed. The Respondents 3 and 4 are directed to consider the claim of the Petitioner for payment of gratuity within a period of four weeks from the date a certified copy of this order is produced before them and it is provided that while considering the merit of the claim, it shall not be rejected on the ground that the wife of the Petitioner had not exercised her option for retirement on attaining the age of 60 years.

However, there shall no order as to costs.

Order Date :- 16.8.2022

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