'Inhuman Approach': P&H HC Imposes ₹1 Lakh Cost On Haryana Govt For Stopping Widow's Family Pension Over Excess Amounts Received By Her Due To Dept's Error

The Punjab & Haryana High Court has imposed a cost of Rs.1 Lakh on the Haryana Government for its "insensitive and inhuman" approach of deducting the excess amount paid in pension due to the Department's negligence, which deprived a widow of family pension.

While noting the government's department deprived the widow of family pension for 15 months and thereafter Rs.9000 was deducted each month to recover the excess amount, Justice Jasgurpreet Singh Puri said, "This approach of the respondents-department was not only arbitrary but also insensitive and inhuman in nature. A widow has been deprived of her family pension for a period of 15 months without her fault."

Hence, the Court opined that the widow shall be entitled to a cost of Rs 1 lakh.

These observations were made while hearing the plea of Sarvesh Devi, seeking directions to Haryana to pay arrears of the pension of the petitioner from the month of August 2021 to the month of October 2022 along with interest.

The husband of the petitioner was working as a Leading Fireman, who passed away in 2003 in a road accident while he was in service. Thereafter, the petitioner being the widow was given the pension and pensionary benefits and she started receiving the family pension well in time.

The counsel for the petitioner submitted that Devi mistakenly received the excess amount but it was never detected either by the department or by any audit department etc. but the petitioner being a widow also did not know the rules, therefore she kept on getting the aforesaid amount till July 2021 i.e.when the mistake was ultimately detected

On the detection of the mistake by respondent authorities, they stopped the total family pension of the petitioner and in this way, the petitioner was not paid any pension at all from July 2021 onwards for a further period of 15 months, he added.

Thereafter, the family pension of the petitioner was refixed in November 2022 wherein an amount of Rs.9000/- was decided to be deducted for 39 months from the family pension of the petitioner.

It was also submitted that the financial position of the petitioner went to her detriment especially being a widow.

After hearing the submissions, the Court noted that the excess amount was paid "mistake or fault on the part of the respondent- department and not because of the fault of the petitioner.

The Court opined that the amount of Rs.4467, paid in pension to the widow after deducting the excess amount "is certainly very less amount and it is not proper for the respondent department to have recovered an installment of Rs.9,000/-per month."

Hence, the Court directed "for the remaining installments which are to be deducted shall be only Rs.4500/- instead of Rs.9,000/- and in this way the instalments of family pension which are now henceforth to be paid by the petitioner shall be fixed accordingly after deduction of an amount of Rs.4500/- per month instead of Rs.9,000/."

Stating that the approach of the department in depriving the widow of the pension was not only arbitrary but also insensitive and inhuman in nature, the Court directed the State to pay a cost of Rs.1,00,000/- to the petitioner within three months.

While disposing of the plea, the Court directed the Additional Chief Secretary, Urban Local Bodies, Haryana, to fix the accountability of the officials with regard to the lapses and to recover the aforesaid cost from the concerned official/officer(s) by fixing the accountability.

Sunil Garg, Advocate for the petitioner.

Dimple Jain, DAG, Haryana.

Sarvesh Devi v. State of Haryana and others

Citation: 2024 LiveLaw (PH) 74

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