Justice Rahul Bharti emphasized that family pension is a legally recognized right that can only be taken away if permitted by law. The High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh recently ruled in the case of Sonika Sharma vs Union of India that a widow cannot be denied family pension on the grounds that divorce proceedings were ongoing between the couple at the time of her husband’s death.
Justice Rahul Bharti highlighted that family pension is a legally protected right that can only be revoked in accordance with the law. The recent ruling by the High Court of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh in the case of Sonika Sharma vs Union of India clarified that a widow cannot be denied family pension based on ongoing divorce proceedings between her and her deceased husband.
The High Court was considering a plea filed by a widow seeking her deceased husband’s pension, who had served as a constable in the Border Security Force (BSF) until 2015. The widow in this case was the sole legal heir as her husband’s parents were deceased and the couple did not have any children. However, the petitioner’s request to the commanding officer for the release of the family pension was rejected, citing that her name was not found in the pension records of the deceased. The reason given for the rejection was that her divorce petition had impacted the processing of her family pension.
The High Court dismissed the respondents’ argument as baseless and without legal merit. As a result, the respondents were instructed to approve and grant family pension to the petitioner, along with all applicable retrospective benefits, in accordance with the rules. The court further ordered that this process be completed within three months from the date of receipt of the court’s order by the respondents. The petitioner was represented by Advocate PS Pawar, while the Central government was represented by Central government standing counsel Ranjit Singh Jamwal.
Source: https://www.barandbench.com/news/cannot-deny-family-pension-widow-divorce-proceedings-husband-lifetime-jammu-and-kashmir-high-court