Constable In Coma Since 5 Yrs After On-Duty Accident, Rajasthan High Court Orders Release Of Salary
The Rajasthan High Court has granted relief to a woman whose constable-husband has been in coma since 2021 following an on-duty accident, with his salary being withheld by the State. The bench of Justice Anand Sharma directed the State to grant Special Disability Leave to the husband, release outstanding salary, and continue payment of regular salary.The constable met with an accident while...
The Rajasthan High Court has granted relief to a woman whose constable-husband has been in coma since 2021 following an on-duty accident, with his salary being withheld by the State.
The bench of Justice Anand Sharma directed the State to grant Special Disability Leave to the husband, release outstanding salary, and continue payment of regular salary.
The constable met with an accident while being on duty, and has been in coma since the accident in 2021. Since then, his salary was withheld by the State.
Petitioner-wife argued that at the time of the accident, the husband was on duty, and as per Rule 99 of the Rajasthan Service Rules, 1951, he was entitled for Special Disability Leave. In this light, the petitioner sought release of the withheld salary of the petitioner from 2021 till date.
This was opposed by the State on the grounds that no FIR was lodged with regard to the alleged incident, and no Special Disability Leave could be granted till it was proved that the husband was in fact on duty at the time of the accident.
After hearing the contentions, the Court highlighted that the petitioner had submitted a letter issued by Deputy Commissioner of Police stating that at the time of the accident the husband was on duty. Further, unique disability ID was also issued by concerned authorities reflecting 85% disability. In this background, it was observed,
“…both the conditions which are required for sanctioning Special Disability Leave under Rule 99 of RSR are fulfilled in this case. Merely, the suspicions created by other officers on account of not lodging an FIR or there were discrepancies in Rojnamcha would not disentitle husband of the petitioner from the legitimate benefits…”
Accordingly, the petition was allowed, and the State was directed to grant Special Disability Leave to the husband, release his due salary from 2021, and continue payment of his regular salary.
Title: Sharda Kanwar v State of Rajasthan & Ors.
Citation: 2026 LiveLaw (Raj) 109