Uttarakhand High Court
WPSS/874/2024 on 6 November, 2025
Author: Manoj Kumar Tiwari
Bench: Manoj Kumar Tiwari
2025:UHC:9799
Office Notes,
reports, orders
or proceedings
SL.
Date or directions COURT'S OR JUDGE'S ORDERS
No.
and Registrar's
order with
Signatures
WPSS No. 2525 of 2024
With
WPSS No. 419 of 2023
WPSS No. 522 of 2023
WPSS No. 2191 of 2023
WPSS No. 2342 of 2023
WPSS No. 189 of 2024
WPSS No. 874 of 2024
Hon'ble Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J
1. Mr. Ghanshyam Joshi & Mr. Suhal A.
Siddiqui, Advocates for the petitioners.
2. Mr. Ganesh Kandpal, learned Deputy
Advocate General for the State of
Uttarakhand.
3. Mr. Shubhang Dobhal & Mr. S.S.
Lingwal, Advocates for the respondent-
University.
4. Since common questions of fact and
law are involved in these petitions,
therefore, these petitions are clubbed
together and decided by this common
judgment. However, for the sake of
brevity and convenience, facts of WPSS
No. 2525 of 2024 alone are being
considered and discussed.
5. Petitioner was a non-teaching
employee of Govind Ballabh Pant
Agriculture and Technology University,
who retired from the post of Junior
Engineer, on 31.01.2002; gratuity has
been denied to him only on the ground
that he had opted to retire at the age of
60 years.
6. Learned counsel for the petitioner
submits that although initially, there
were two categories of employee in
University, namely, (i) those who had
opted to retire at the age of 58 years, &
2025:UHC:9799
(ii) those who had opted to retire at the
age of 60 years, and as per the then
prevailing Government Orders, gratuity
was payable only to first category of
employees, namely, who had opted to
retire at the age of 58 years. He further
submits that subsequently, the age of
superannuation of all University
employees became 60 years, irrespective
of option exercised by them, therefore,
the classification of employees based on
their option became redundant. He
submits that this issue was decided in
favour of similarly situate employees by
coordinate Bench of this Court in WPMS
No. 395 of 2017, which was affirmed
upto Hon'ble Supreme Court. He,
therefore, submits that in view of the
said judgment rendered by coordinate
Bench, petitioner is also entitled to
gratuity.
7. Learned State Counsel, however,
submits that in WPMS No. 395 of 2017 &
other connected petitions, coordinate
Bench was considering challenge thrown
by the University to the order passed by
Controlling Authority under Payment of
Gratuity Act, 1972. He submits that since
employees had approached the
Controlling Authority under the Payment
of Gratuity Act and Controlling Authority
had allowed their applications for release
of gratuity and petitioners have directly
approached this Court, without
approaching Controlling Authority,
therefore, petitioners are not entitled to
any relief in this writ petition.
8. Learned counsel for the petitioners
submits that petitioners are being denied
gratuity only on the ground that they had
opted for 58 years of age of retirement
and this classification, based on option
2025:UHC:9799
regarding age on superannuation, has
been obliterated by virtue of judgment
rendered by coordinate Bench, therefore,
State Government be directed to
examine the claim of the petitioners for
gratuity.
9. Without expressing any opinion on
the merits of the claim raised by the
petitioners, all the writ petitions are
disposed of with liberty to petitioners
stake claim for gratuity by making
application before the Secretary
(Agriculture), who shall look into the
matter and take decision, as per law,
within four months from the date of
receipt of such application. If the
Secretary (Agriculture) decides in favour
of the petitioners, then he shall grant
approval to the University for releasing of
gratuity, as per law, within two weeks
thereafter.
(Manoj Kumar Tiwari, J)
06.11.2025
Aswal
NITI RAJ SINGH
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2.5.4.20=eacc6757ee7881e933ff8934f07477005aa85f9802a3a08b08d136
ASWAL
9512ea30f3, postalCode=263001, st=UTTARAKHAND,
serialNumber=44EB54CBF00B7698CB6F10C2CE3D26F5C22DACF4F4610
C1FE58A58531726FBB0, cn=NITI RAJ SINGH ASWAL
Date: 2025.11.06 04:15:38 -08'00'
2025:UHC:9799
