The Allahabad High Court has directed state authorities to promptly address the plea of an unmarried woman seeking family pension following the death of her parents, both government employees. The matter was heard on Wednesday before Justice Ajit Kumar, who disposed of the writ petition with a firm timeline for decision-making.
Background
The petitioner, Km. Santosh, approached the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution. Her father, a government employee, passed away in service back in October 1998. After his death, the petitioner's mother was receiving family pension until her own demise in November 2021.
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Since then, the petitioner has been pressing her claim to continue receiving the pension as the unmarried daughter of the deceased employee.
She had already submitted a representation to the concerned authority in February 2024, but no decision was taken, leading her to file the writ petition.
Court's Observations
During the hearing, the court posed pointed questions regarding eligibility. The state's standing counsel responded that the government order dated 16 May 2015 expressly included unmarried, divorced, and widowed daughters under the dependent category for family pension.
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Justice Ajit Kumar read aloud a key part of the order, which says unmarried daughters are entitled to pension benefits until marriage, remarriage, gainful employment, or death - whichever occurs first.
The standing counsel candidly admitted,
"There is no objection if the matter is directed to be considered by the competent authority in accordance with law."
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The Decision
Disposing of the writ petition, the bench directed the appointing authority (respondent no. 3 in the case) to examine the petitioner's claim under the 2015 government order. The Judge emphasized that the matter must not linger any longer.
Justice Kumar stated.
"The competent authority shall decide the issue within two months of receiving the certified copy of this order,"
He further added that if no technical difficulty exists and the claim is found genuine, the family pension should be released in the petitioner's favor within an additional six weeks.
With these directions, the petition was formally disposed of.
Case Title: Km. Santosh vs. State of U.P. and 2 Others
Case Number: Writ - A No. 13012 of 2025
Counsel for Petitioner: Abdul Allam Ansari, Upendra Upadhyay
Counsel for Respondent: C.S.C. (Chief Standing Counsel)
