As per case facts, a Constable (Respondent) was dismissed from service for unauthorized absence for 4 months and 19 days. The department treated this period as 'non-duty period, without pay' ... for pensionary benefits. After departmental appeals were dismissed, he filed a civil suit, which was initially dismissed but later decreed by the First Appellate Court, holding that treating the absence as non-duty period amounted to condonation, making dismissal unsustainable. The State appealed to the High Court. The question arose whether treating unauthorized absence as a 'non-duty period without pay' condones misconduct or constitutes double punishment, thus invalidating dismissal. Finally, the High Court ruled that treating absence as 'non-duty period without pay' is an administrative record-keeping measure for service consequences, not a condonation of misconduct or a second punishment. It upheld the dismissal, clarifying that 'no work, no pay' is a service principle, not a disciplinary penalty, and directed the authority to consider the respondent's request for conversion to premature retirement.