Bombay High Court
Vanita W/O Gorakh Rupnawar vs The State Of Maharashtra Thr The ... on 21 August, 2025
2025:BHC-AS:36419-DB
RAMESHWAR
LAXMAN
DILWALE Rameshwar Dilwale 6-WP-4687-22.doc
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RAMESHWAR
LAXMAN DILWALE IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAY
Date: 2025.08.25
19:08:09 +0530 CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION
WRIT PETITION NO.4687 OF 2022
Vanita W/o Gorakh Rupnawar .. Petitioner
Vs.
The State of Maharashtra & Ors. .. Respondents
...
Ms. Prachiti Deshpande (Thr. VC), Advocate for the Petitioner. Mr. P. P. Kakade, Additional. G.P. with Mr. K. S. Thorat, 'B' Panel counsel for the Respondent Nos.1 to 3.
...
CORAM : SHREE CHANDRASHEKHAR &
AARTI SATHE, JJ
DATE : 21st AUGUST 2025.
P.C. :
This writ petition was filed in the year 2022 but no reply has been filed by the respondents. The grant of family pension to the petitioner has been denied vide communication dated 31st December 2021 without specifying any reason. The communication dated 31st December 2021 simply states that the husband of the petitioner was confirmed in service in the year 2006. Whereas the petitioner has pleaded that her husband was appointed on 8th November 1990 on a part-time basis and he was entitled to seek the benefit of his past services prior to his confirmation in service.
2. The petitioner relied on an order passed by this Court in Writ Petition No.6143 of 2016 titled "Smt. Umabai v. The State of Maharashtra & others" whereunder this Court referred to previous decisions and held as under:
"9. This Court in case of Jyoti Prakash Chougule Vs. State of 1/4 ::: Uploaded on - 25/08/2025 ::: Downloaded on - 29/08/2025 22:47:36 ::: Rameshwar Dilwale 6-WP-4687-22.doc Maharashtra has considered identical facts and after adverting to the judgments of this Court in Shivappa s/o Bhujangappa Bembale Vs. State of Maharashtra & anr. and various other judgments has held that the teacher should not have been deprived of the services rendered under the same Management, but may be in different schools or institutions. The services could have been clubbed or added to as desired. It is held that the State Pension Rules are applicable to the teachers in terms of Rule 19 of the MEPS Rules, the above principle will apply. This Court directed the Accountant General to consider the case of the Petitioner by giving pensionary benefit in view of the Rules considered by this Court.
10. A Division Bench of this Court in case of Abaso Ganpati Aoute Vs. State of Maharashtra & Ors. has after adverting to the judgment of Jyoti Prakash Chougule (supra) has held that 50% of the part time services rendered by the Petitioner has to be taken into consideration along with the services rendered by the Petitioner as full time teacher for grant of superannuation pension benefits.
11. The principles laid down by this Court in the aforesaid judgment will apply to the present case regarding non teaching staff also. A Division Bench of this Court in case of Smt. Darshana wd/o Adikrao Gaikwad Vs. State of Maharashtra has considered identical facts where the Petitioner was appointed as part time Librarian initially and thereafter, full time Librarian. In that matter also authority had refused to grant superannuation pension to the Petitioner therein. This Court after adverting to various judgments including Jyoti Prakash Chougule (supra) held that 50% of the time services rendered by the part time Librarian is required to be counted for the purpose of pensionary services along with full time services rendered by the employee. The said judgments squarely applies to the facts of this case. We are not inclined to take different view in the matter."
3. The petitioner has also relied on the decision in Writ Petition No.8222 of 2018 titled "Mukund Marutirao Jagtap v. Superintendent, Pay & Provident Fund Unit & Others" whereunder this Court has made the following observations:-
"9. In the facts of the present case also, indisputably the wife of Petitioner had rendered services as part time librarian with the schools referred herein above from 08/06/1998 to 31/02/2007 and from 01/04/2007 as full time librarian till the date of her death. Therefore, the services rendered by the wife of Petitioner as a part time librarian, half of the period of said services will have to be taken into consideration in addition to the period for which the wife of the Petitioner had worked as full time librarian. We are therefore of the opinion that the wife of Petitioner will have to be held to be entitled for the pensionary benefits."2/4 ::: Uploaded on - 25/08/2025 ::: Downloaded on - 29/08/2025 22:47:36 :::
Rameshwar Dilwale 6-WP-4687-22.doc
4. In the opinion of this Court, an employee who has rendered more than 30 years of service cannot be denied pensionary benefits on a plea that his initial engagement was on a part-time basis. Such a stand of the employer has been deprecated by Hon'ble Supreme Court in "The State of Gujarat & Ors. v. Talsibhai Dhanjibhai Patel"
2022 SCC Online SC 2004, whereunder Hon'ble Supreme Court observed as under:-
"It is unfortunate that the State continued to take the services of the respondent as an ad-hoc for 30 years and thereafter now to contend that as the services rendered by the respondent are ad-hoc, he is not entitled to pension/pensionary benefit. The State cannot be permitted to take the benefit of its own wrong. To take the Services continuously for 30 years and thereafter to contend that an employee who has rendered 30 years continues service shall not be eligible for pension is nothing but unreasonable. As a welfare State, the State as such ought not to have taken such a stand.
In the present case, the High Court has not committed any error in directing the State to pay pensionary benefits to the respondent who has retired after rendering more than 30 years service.
Hence, the Special Leave Petition stands dismissed. Pending application(s), if any, shall stand disposed of."
5. Writ Petition No.4687 of 2022 is allowed.
6. The respondent no.3 shall forward the pension/family pension papers to the concerned Authorities and complete the process within eight weeks.
[AARTI SATHE, J.] [SHREE CHANDRASHEKHAR, J. ] 3/4 ::: Uploaded on - 25/08/2025 ::: Downloaded on - 29/08/2025 22:47:36 ::: Rameshwar Dilwale 6-WP-4687-22.doc 4/4 ::: Uploaded on - 25/08/2025 ::: Downloaded on - 29/08/2025 22:47:36 :::