Allahabad High Court: Estranged Wife Has Right to Family Pension After Husband’s Death
The Allahabad High Court recently ruled that an estranged wife, who was financially dependent on her husband, has the legal right to receive family pension after his death.
The judgment was passed by Justice Manju Rani Chauhan in response to a petition filed by Urmila Singh. Singh had been living separately from her husband but was receiving ₹8,000 per month as maintenance, as directed by the family court.
Singh’s husband was an assistant teacher who retired in 2016 and received pension until he passed away in 2019. After his death, Singh applied for family pension. However, her request was rejected because her name wasn’t listed in the family details provided by her husband for pension approval.
Challenging this decision, Singh submitted a certificate from the Gram Pradhan proving her marriage and dependency. The High Court noted that Singh, being 62 years old and financially dependent on her husband, falls under the definition of “family” as per Rule 3 of the U.P. Retirement Benefit Rules, 1961.
According to the rules, “family” includes the wife, husband, sons, daughters, and other legal heirs. Rule 7(4) states that the family pension should go first to the widow, and only if she is not alive, then to the eldest son. The court also highlighted that the sons in this case were adults and financially independent, making them ineligible for the pension.
The court emphasized that family pension is a statutory right, not a form of charity, and cannot be controlled or denied based on the deceased employee’s personal preferences or documentation. Citing a similar case from the Kerala High Court (Union of India v. Sathikumari Amma), the court stated that a legally wedded spouse cannot be denied pension through nomination or exclusion by the employee.
In its judgment dated July 27, the Allahabad High Court ordered the concerned authority to release the family pension to Singh.
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