C/LPA/658/2025 ORDER DATED: 08/05/2025 IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 658 of 2025 In R/SPECIAL CIVIL APPLICATION NO. 19374 of 2022 With CIVIL APPLICATION (FOR STAY) NO. 1 of 2025 In R/LETTERS PATENT APPEAL NO. 658 of 2025 ========================================================== STATE OF GUJARAT & ORS. Versus BHURABHAI S/O. LALABHAI BARIYA LH OF KESHARBEN WD/O LALABHAI BARIYA LH OF DECD. LALABHAI DHIRABHAI BARIYA ========================================================== Appearance: MS SHRUTI DHRUVE, AGP for the Appellant(s) No. 1,2,3,4 MR DIPAK R DAVE(1232) for the Respondent(s) No. 1 ========================================================== CORAM:HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.S. SUPEHIA and HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE R. T. VACHHANI Date : 08/05/2025 ORAL ORDER (PER : HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.S. SUPEHIA) By order of even date, this Court has allowed Civil Application (for bringing legal heirs) No.2 of 2025 and thereby permitted the legal heir (Bhurabhai s/o. Lalabhai Bariya) of deceased – Kesharben wd/o. Lalabhai Bariya to bring on record of the present proceedings. 1. Pursuant to the order dated 17.04.2025 passed by this Court in Civil Application (For Condonation of Delay) No.2125 of 2025, the appellants have deposited an amount of Rs.25,000/- before the Registry of this Court. In order to see that the respondent, who is widow of C/LPA/658/2025 ORDER DATED: 08/05/2025 the deceased employee, gets the pensionary benefits, as directed by the learned Single Judge, we had called for the original records from the appellants and they are present today before us. Learned AGP has also tendered an affidavit dated 08.05.2025 producing the statement of the actual working days of the deceased employee. 2. We have perused the impugned order passed by the learned Single Judge. The learned Single Judge has found prima facie opinion that widow of the deceased employee would be entitled to the pension, and issued further direction directing the present appellants to undertake process of verifying the period of service completed by late husband of the widow and upon such verification, it is further recorded that the appellants shall ensure appropriate payment, as per the Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988. 3. A chart, depicting the actual working days of the deceased employee - a daily wager, has been produced along with the affidavit, which reveals that in the year 1990, the deceased employee had completed only 204 days. The calculation has been made on the basis of the roaster, which is produced on record. It is also revealed that the respondents have included the Sundays and national holidays for computing 204 days. Hence, C/LPA/658/2025 ORDER DATED: 08/05/2025 we find that the law enunciated by the Apex Court in the case of Workmen of American Express International Banking Corporation vs. Management of American Express International Banking Corporation, (1985) 4 S.C.C. 71, on which the reliance is placed by the learned Single Judge, has been complied with. 4. Further details produced at Page No.28 of the writ petition, reveal that the deceased employee had completed more than 240 days from the year 1991 to 2000 i.e. for nine years. It is also noticed by us that after completion of 5 years, the deceased employee was placed in the fixed pay of Rs.750/-, as required under Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988 however, since he did not further complete 5 years of service, i.e. total 10 years, which is the requirement of Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988, he was not placed in the regular pay-scale. The respondents have calculated his service from 1991 to 2000, which comes to around 9 years. Hence, for want of completion of 10 years, as required under the Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988, he was not further placed in the regular pay- scale, which would have entitled the widow of the deceased employee for pension. 5. It is also not in dispute that the deceased employee had retired on 31.03.2000 and passed C/LPA/658/2025 ORDER DATED: 08/05/2025 away on 20.04.2008. During his lifetime, after his retirement in 2000, till 2008, the deceased employee neither agitated before any forum for fixation of pay nor he claimed the actual pay- scale, as per the Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988, perhaps he was aware that he would not be entitled to it as he did not complete 10 years of service. 6. The writ petition has been filed by the widow of the respondent employee in the year 2022 claiming pension as per the Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988. The learned Single Judge in fact, by issuing such directions, though has only directed the respondents to verify the service records, has actually resurrected the cause of claim of fixation of pay-scale, which was never agitated by the deceased employee till his date of retirement i.e. in 2000 and thereafter, in the year 2008. Unless, the deceased employee becomes entitled to regular pays-cale as per the Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988, he cannot be considered eligible for pension or any other benefit. 7. Hence, though the claim of pension cannot be defeated on the ground of delay however, the pension can only be fixed on the basis of the regular pay-scale of an employee. C/LPA/658/2025 ORDER DATED: 08/05/2025 8. In the present case, as we have noted hereinabove, the deceased employee had never raised any claim about the pay-scale as per the Government Resolution dated 17.10.1988 may be, since it appears that he was aware that he would not be entitled to the same as he did not complete 10 years continuous service, as defined under Section 25B of the Industrial Disputes Act, 1947 (I.D. Act) and he had completed only 9 years of service, when he retired on 31.03.2000. 9. Thus, in wake of these peculiar facts and in order to lay quietus to the entire issue, the present appeal is allowed by setting aside the order passed by the learned Single Judge. The amount of Rs.25,000/-, which has been deposited before the Registry of this Court, shall be disbursed to the legal heirs of the deceased widow. 10. It is further clarified that we have passed the present order only looking to the service details of the deceased employee in peculiar set of facts. 11. As a sequel, the connected civil application does not survive hence, same stands disposed of. Sd/-. (A. S. SUPEHIA, J) Sd/-. (R. T. VACHHANI, J) NVMEWADA/39 Original copy of this order has been signed by the Hon'ble Judges. Digitally signed by: NEHABEN VINODBHAI MEWADA(HC01571), PRIVATE SECRETARY, at High Court of Gujarat on 12/05/2025 13:03:03