Kerala Service Rules| Family Pension Can't Be Denied To Non-Remarried Widow Of Deceased Employee Merely Because She's Employed Or Receives Another Pension : HC

The Kerala High Court, in a recent judgment, clarified that family pension cannot be denied to the wife of a deceased employee merely because she is employed or receiving another pension.Justice P.M. Manoj observed that as per the Kerala Service Rules (KSR), if the surviving wife has not remarried, she is entitled to receive family pension whether or not she was dependent on her deceased husband.The Court held:“In the present case, the primary concern is the grant of Family Pension to the wife of the deceased employee. The next question that arises is whether the employment or receipt of any other pension by the applicant or the wife of deceased can be a ground for denying family pension. Rule 90(7) of Part III KSR provides that family pension shall be admissible to a widow up to the date of her death or remarriage, whichever is earlier. Therefore, it can be presumed that the marital status of the surviving wife of the deceased employee is the sole criteria for the grant of family pension. The dependency condition applies only to parents, unmarried widow daughters and disabled children.”The widow of a deceased employee of KSEB (Kerala State Electricity Board Ltd) has filed the plea challenging a sanction order to keep in abeyance the disbursement of family pension arrears and monthly family pension to her pending disposal of a vigilance enquiry.The vigilance enquiry was relating to irregularities in the appointments of the petitioner's late husband and his late brother's daughter, both of whom were alleged to have been granted employment under the compassionate appointment scheme upon the death of the very same person. The petitioner's late husband had joined service in 1974 whereas his niece entered service in 1989. He retired in 2000 and he was sanctioned pension. Thereafter, while drawing monthly pension, he passed away in 2008. The petitioner, who herself is a retiree employed with Kerala Khadi and Village Industries Board, approached the Chief Engineer (HRM) of KSEB seeking disbursal of family pension, after a gap of 8 years. She explained the delay by stating that she had been staying at different places in New Delhi since her husband's death and could not submit the application in time.To verify if the explanation was true, a vigilance enquiry was conducted and the report revealed that the same was untrue. However, the family pension was revalidated to her taking into consideration the fact that she had not remarried and remained the sole legal heir to receive the family pension.Since there was a vigilance enquiry as to whether there was any irregularity in the appointment of the petitioner's husband, the family pension and arrears were kept in abeyance, necessitating the petitioner to approach the High Court.The KSEB's standing counsel submitted that though the police as well as its own vigilance department conducted enquiry, the allegations regarding the appointment could not be proved due to lack of material evidence. It was not clear whose appointment was based on fraud, whether it was the petitioner's husband's or his niece's. The standing counsel further pointed that the petitioner has admitted in her plea that her late husband was appointed as per the compassionate appointment scheme. However, the petitioner's counsel submitted that this aspect was not in her direct knowledge since the appointment happened years before their marriage and she acquired knowledge only from the information furnished by the Vigilance Officer.The petitioner's husband's niece also entered appearance and stated that after the death of her father, her mother sought compassionate appointment but it was denied due to lack of qualification. It was years later that she got appointed, being the sole dependent of her late father. Since there was no evidence to prove that she forged any document, she was exonerated after disciplinary enquiry.After hearing the parties, the Court took note of the fact that there was no conclusive evidence to show that there was any fraud in the appointments of the petitioner's late husband. It was observed that the petitioner's averment that her husband secured employment under the die-in-harness scheme is no evidence to prove that he got employed that way especially since the petitioner later stated that she was unaware of how he secured employment.Next, the Court examined Rule 90 of Part III of the KSR, which relates to grant of family pension. It was found that as per Rule 90(6), family includes wife, eldest son or daughter in case the deceased employee is a male. Rule 90(7) provides that family pension can be granted to the deceased's widow till her remarriage or death. Thus, the Court concluded that the marital status of widow is the only criteria for determining if she is eligible for family pension.The Court also looked into the Kerala State Electricity Board (Appointment of Dependents of Board Employees Who Die in Harness or Are Permanently Disabled and Retire on Invalid Pension)...

Kerala Service Rules| Family Pension Can't Be Denied To Non-Remarried Widow Of Deceased Employee Merely Because She's Employed Or Receives Another Pension : HC

K. Salma Jennath

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Kerala Service Rules| Family Pension Can't Be Denied To Non-Remarried Widow Of Deceased Employee Merely Because She's Employed Or Receives Another Pension : HC

K. Salma Jennath

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