The Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court has recently ruled that a widow can’t be denied family pension after her husband’s death on the ground that during his lifetime, divorce proceedings were ongoing between the couple.
Justice Rahul Bharti held that the family pension is a right under the law which can be taken away only if permitted by the law.
The single-judge reasoned “There is not even a single provision of law quoted in the reply/objections by the respondents as to on what basis the respondents are enabling themselves to deny the petitioner her claim for sanction and grant of family pension.”
The High Court heard the widow’s plea seeking her deceased husband’s pension who served in the Border Security Force (BSF) as a constable till 2015.
The widow in this case was the sole legal heir as her husband’s parents were no more and the couple didn’t have children. The petitioner’s application to the commanding officer for sanctioning the release of the family pension came to be rejected on the ground that her name was not found in the pension records of the deceased.
The response also stated that on account of the petitioner’s divorce petition, her case for the process of the family pension wasn’t to be taken up.
However, the High Court rejected this reasoning while stating that the respondents’ stand was nothing but frivolous and without any legal basis.
Therefore, the respondents were directed to sanction and grant family pensions under the rules in favor of the petitioner along with all the retrospective benefits. It was also ordered that this process might get completed within a period of 3 months from the date that this order was received by the respondents.
Advocate PS Pawar appeared for the petitioner while the Central government was represented by Central government standing counsel Ranjit Singh Jamwal.
