Estranged wife entitled to family pension sans nomination: Alld HC
PRAYAGRAJ, Aug. 1 -- The Allahabad high court has held that an estranged wife even if not nominated by her husband to receive pension has the right to receive family pension after the death of her husband over the rights of the sons who were named as nominees by the husband.
With this observation, Justice Manju Rani Chauhan on July 24 allowed the writ petition of one Urmila Singh who was living separately from her husband but was dependent on the maintenance of Rs 8,000 given by her husband as per directions of the family court in a maintenance case.
The petitioner's husband was an assistant teacher who retired in 2016 and was receiving pension till his death in 2019. After his death, the petitioner filed an application for receiving family pension which was rejected on the ground that her name was not mentioned in the details of family members in the documents submitted by her husband for sanction of pension.
Against this order, the petitioner approached the high court claiming that the fact that she was his wife was proved by the gram pradhan certificate as well as the maintenance proceedings instituted by her where she was getting Rs 8,000 as maintenance.
The court held that the age of the sons and the fact that they may be earning made them ineligible to receive the family pension, whereas the wife who was 62 and was receiving maintenance from the husband was entitled to the family pension.
"The family pension is statutory and beyond the employee's unilateral control. Family pension is recognized as a legal entitlement, not charity," the court observed. Accordingly, the writ petition was allowed directing the respondent authority to release the family pension in favour of the petitioner....
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