NILAMBEN VALLABHDAS SODHA Vs. STATE OF GUJARAT

JUDGEMENT

(1.) BY way of this petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has challenged decision of respondent No.4 contained in communication dated 11th September, 2004 and 27th July, 2004 whereby request of the petitioner for considering her services for period between 26.6.1969 to 30.4.1979 is rejected. The petitioner has prayed to direct the respondents to grant her special leave for the intervening period and to consider her entire service as continuous service and to direct the respondents to release her retiral benefits including pension, gratuity etc. for all the years.

(2.) CASE of the petitioner is that she had served as Staff Nurse for period from 26.6.1969 to 30.4.1979 and resigned from the said service and thereafter, she was again appointed on the post of Auxiliary Nurse Midwife with effect from 5.8.1980 and worked till she was permitted to voluntarily retire with effect from 30.11.2002. The petitioner has averred that she had earlier requested respondent authorities in the year 1994 and 1998 to permit her to retire voluntarily but somehow, she was not permitted to retire voluntarily and considering her ill health, she had to remain on leave for a considerable long period. The petitioner has stated that her service from 26.6.1969 to 30.4.1979 was ordered to be considered for pension and the intervening period from 1.5.79 to 4.8.80 was sanctioned as special leave. It is the further case of the petitioner that the period from 1.4.92 to 10.10.93 during which she had remained absent was sanctioned as leave without pay. It is the case of the petitioner that she had put in more than 20 years of service when she was permitted to retire voluntarily and, therefore, she is entitled to get retiral benefits but she has been denied such benefits and, therefore, she has filed this petition.

(3.) I have heard the learned advocates for the parties.