Jayanti Devi Vs State of Hp and Ors.

For the Petitioner: Mr. Lalita Verma, Advocate. For the Respondents: Mr. L.N. Sharma, Additional Advocate General and Ms. Menka Raj Chauhan, Deputy Advocate General.

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Jyotsna Rewal Dua, Judge

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Reply stands filed. With the consent of learned counsel for the parties, matter is heard at this stage.

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2. Respondents have rejected the case of the petitioner for grant of pension/family pension on 20.11.2018 (Annexure P-6) by holding that she is not entitled for benefit of decision rendered in Sunder Singh versus The State of Himachal Pradesh & others.²

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3. According to the respondents, petitioner’s husband late Sh. Prem Dass had worked on daily wage

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1 Whether reporters of print and electronic media may be allowed to see the order? Yes.

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2Civil Appeal No.6309/2017, decided on 08.03.2018.

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basis Mason (Class-III post), therefore, he did not fall within the purview of Sunder Singh as said decision was applicable to Class-IV employees. According to the respondents, the decision in Sunder Singh² was applicable only to Class-IV employees who were initially engaged as daily wagers such as Peon/Chowkidar/Sweeper etc. and thereafter, their services were regularized pursuant to the decision rendered in Mool Raj Upadhyaya versus State of H.P and others .³

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4. The reasoning in the impugned order rejecting the representation of the petitioner is not in consonance with law. The relevant portion from the decision rendered in Sunder Singh² reads as under:-

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“6. Accordingly, we direct that w.e.f 01.01.2018, the appellants or other similarly placed Class-IV employees will be entitled to pension if they have been duly regularized and have been completed total eligible service for more than 10 years. Daily wage service of 5 years will be treated equal to one year of regular service for pension. If on that basis, their services are more than 8 years but less than 10 years, their service will be reckoned as ten years.”

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31994 Suppl(2) SCC 316

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The above decision has further been clarified in

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Balo Devi and others versus State of Himachal

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Pradesh and others⁴ as under:-

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“The intent of this Court was quite clear that : -

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(a) The services rendered as a regular employee may first be computed.

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(b) To the service as rendered to above, the component at the rate of one year of regular service for every five years of service as a daily wager, be added.

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(c) If both the components as detailed in Paras a & b hereinabove, take the length of service to a level of more than eight years but less than ten years, in terms of last sentence of paragraph 6 of the Order, the services shall be reckoned as ten years.”

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The benefit of the above decisions has not been restricted to those employees whose services were regularized in terms of Mool Raj Upadhyaya³ decision. The benefit is applicable to all Class-IV as well as Class-III employees (Ref. Roop Lal vs. State of H.P. & Ors .⁵ ) for counting the daily wage service rendered by them for the purpose of qualifying services for grant of pension.

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Reasons for rejecting the prayer of the petitioner for grant of pension in light of Sunder Singh² and Balo Devi⁴ are not justified. Hence, office order dated 20.11.2018 is quashed and set-aside. Respondents

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4Civil Appeal No.4792/2022, decided on 18.07.2022.

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5LPA No.196/2022, decided on 11.10.2023.

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are directed to consider the case of the petitioner afresh for grant of pension/family pension keeping in view Sunder Singh² and Balo Devi⁴ and Roop Lal⁵ within six weeks. The decision so arrived at shall also be communicated to the petitioner.

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The writ petition stands disposed of in the above terms, so also the pending miscellaneous application(s), if any.

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December 20, 2025 yogesh

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Jyotsna Rewal Dua Judge

Jayanti Devi v. State of Hp and Ors.

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Jayanti Devi v. State of Hp and Ors.

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