Gujarat High Court
Bhavanaben Shankarrao Devre vs Vadodara Municipal Corporation & 2 on 4 August, 2016
Author: J.B.Pardiwala
Bench: J.B.Pardiwala
C/SCA/7006/2002 JUDGMENT
IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD
SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 7006 of 2002
FOR APPROVAL AND SIGNATURE:
HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA
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1 Whether Reporters of Local Papers may be allowed
to see the judgment ?
2 To be referred to the Reporter or not ?
3 Whether their Lordships wish to see the fair copy of
the judgment ?
4 Whether this case involves a substantial question of
law as to the interpretation of the Constitution of
India or any order made thereunder ?
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BHAVANABEN SHANKARRAO DEVRE....Petitioner(s)
Versus
VADODARA MUNICIPAL CORPORATION & 2....Respondent(s)
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Appearance:
MR RD RAVAL, ADVOCATE for the Petitioner(s) No. 1
MR PRANAV G DESAI, ADVOCATE for the Respondent(s) No. 1 - 3
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CORAM: HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA
Date : 04/08/2016
ORAL JUDGMENT
By this writ-application under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the writ-applicant, wife of a deceased former employee of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation, has Page 1 of 4 HC-NIC Page 1 of 4 Created On Sat Aug 06 04:17:38 IST 2016 C/SCA/7006/2002 JUDGMENT prayed for the following reliefs :
"(A) Your Lordships may be pleased to issue a writ in the nature of mandamus or any other appropriate writ, order or direction and be pleased to quash and set aside the action of the respondent of not paying terminal benefits of her missing husband to the petitioner including PF, Gratuity, Family pension, etc. (B) Your Lordships may be pleased to direct the corporation to pay to the petitioner all the above and other legally permissible terminal benefits to the petitioner of her missing husband on account of granting prayer "A" as above notwithstanding the fact of his dismissal from the services.
(C) Your Lordships may be pleased to hold and declare that a departmental inquiry on absenteeism against a missing person is unlawful in as much as the person actually missing due to unknown reason cannot defend his case and hence the action of dismissal be quashed and st aside or suitably modified.
(D) Your Lordships may be pleased to direct the respondent corporation to release PF and Family pension to the petitioner as an immediate interim relief to meet with the crisis of living.
(E) Your Lordships may be pleased to grant any other and further relief as may be deemed fit in the interest of justice.
(F) Your Lordships may be pleased to grant cost of this petition."
The facts of this case may be summarised as under :
The late husband of the writ-applicant was serving with the Vadodara Municipal Corporation as a Class-IV employee. In the year 1994, after putting in about 13 years of service, all of a sudden the husband went missing. A public notice in this Page 2 of 4 HC-NIC Page 2 of 4 Created On Sat Aug 06 04:17:38 IST 2016 C/SCA/7006/2002 JUDGMENT regard was also issued on 22nd August 1996 in the Gujarati newspaper. However, the whereabouts of the husband could not be ascertained. In such circumstances, the writ-applicant herein made a request to the Corporation that she may be appointed on compassionate ground. By the time she came to be appointed by the Corporation on a compassionate ground, 7 years had lapsed from the date of the public notice which was issued as regards the missing of the husband. After accepting the employment which was offered by the Corporation, all of a sudden one fine day the husband appeared. According to the learned counsel, he was not in a stable state of mind. He insisted before the Corporation that he should be reinstated in service. The Corporation found itself in a dilemma. On one hand, it offered compassionate appointment to the wife, and on the other, the husband appears and puts forward his claim for reinstatement. However, the husband, thereafter, within a short period of time passed away.
It appears that the Corporation, at one point of time, even terminated the service of the wife, but on the demise of the husband, later on, once again reinstated the wife in service and also confirmed permanent status in employment. This issue came to an end. The wife, as on date, is peacefully serving with the Corporation. The only issue now left is with regard to the terminal benefits of the late husband. According to the learned counsel appearing for the writ-applicant, the Corporation has yet to pay the amount towards the provident fund, a part of the gratuity amount and family pension.
The Corporation is directed to immediately look into the matter and calculate the terminal benefits otherwise payable Page 3 of 4 HC-NIC Page 3 of 4 Created On Sat Aug 06 04:17:38 IST 2016 C/SCA/7006/2002 JUDGMENT to the late husband upto the year 2005 and pay the requisite amount to the writ-applicant within a period of four weeks from the date of receipt of the order.
With the above, this writ-application is disposed of. Direct service is permitted.
In the event, if there is any further difficulty, it will be open for the writ-applicant to avail of the appropriate legal remedy before the appropriate forum in accordance with law.
(J.B.PARDIWALA, J.) MOIN Page 4 of 4 HC-NIC Page 4 of 4 Created On Sat Aug 06 04:17:38 IST 2016