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Unfair Stand Gets High Court
Overturns Single Judge, Orders to from Date of Divorce
In a significant ruling that reinforces the , a Division Bench of the has allowed a filed by Smt. Ujjwala Rani Paul, directing the (AMC) to grant her from the date she obtained a divorce. The Court held that the condition of being divorced on the date of the pensioner’s death is not required under the applicable rules and that the Corporation’s stand was “.”
A Daughter's Long Road to Justice
The appellant, Ujjwala Rani Paul, is the daughter of a former employee of the , who on and passed away on . His wife had him. At the time of her father’s death, the appellant was still married — though her husband had deserted her shortly after their marriage in , forcing her to take shelter in her father’s home. She lived there for over 40 years, dependent on her father.
She filed for before the , which was granted on . On , she applied for under the .
The Corporation's Unfair Stand
The rejected her claim on , arguing that a Memorandum dated from the — which extended benefits to divorced daughters of state government pensioners — had not yet been adopted or ratified by the Corporation. Aggrieved, the appellant filed a before a Single Judge.
The learned Single Judge, while agreeing that makes a eligible, denied relief on the ground that the appellant was not a divorcee on the date of her father’s death. The Judge held that the High Court could not rewrite the rules and that the appellant, being married at the time of her father’s death, did not fall within the specified category.
What the Rules Actually Say
The Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice M.S. Ramachandra Rao and Justice Biswajit Palit, examined the applicable provisions. They noted that the were adopted by the then Agartala Municipality via a notification in January 1992, effective from . Consequently, every subsequent notification extending benefits under these rules automatically applied to AMC employees.
clearly states:
“ shall be admissible to //divorcee daughter (until restoration of her ) and in the event of death of the pensioner and his/her spouse. Criteria for //divorcee daughter will be determined on the basis of monthly income up to Rs.3000/-.”
The Court observed that this rule does not specify that the daughter must be divorced at the time of the pensioner’s death. “When such a requirement is not provided in the applicable rule,” the Bench stated, “the learned Single Judge erred in reading such a requirement into Rule 8.”
Precedents That Paved the Way
The Division Bench relied on an , which explicitly contemplates cases where divorce proceedings were initiated during the pensioner’s lifetime but the decree of divorce was obtained after his death. In such cases, is to commence from the date of divorce. This memorandum, the Bench noted, is binding on the by virtue of the 1992 adoption notification.
Supporting this view, the Bench cited the ’s decision in Union of India and others v. Mita Saha Karmakar (WP.CT No.36 of 2025), where the court held that the object of granting is to provide to a dependent family member, and a cannot be denied the benefit merely because the divorce occurred after the father’s death. The in also took a similar stance, emphasising that a rigid, technical interpretation would defeat the welfare purpose of the pension scheme.
Key Observations
The Court did not mince words while criticising the for its stance:
“It is difficult to believe that women in India, for the sake of paltry would go to the extent of making false pleas in their divorce application and would break up their marriage. Also her husband has also agreed to her plea and had not disputed the same. It is unfortunate that such an unfair stand has been taken by the .”
The Bench further declared the Corporation’s claim that the 2018 Memorandum had not been adopted as “,” since the Corporation itself had admitted in its counter affidavit that a legally is entitled to under Rule 8.
Final Verdict and Implications
The Division Bench allowed the , set aside the judgment of the learned Single Judge, and directed the to pay to the appellant from — the date of her divorce — and to continue paying it during her lifetime. The of are to be paid within three months, with from the date each instalment fell due until actual payment.
This judgment underscores a crucial principle: pension and schemes are welfare measures designed to provide financial security to dependent family members. Courts will not read in extra conditions that are not expressly stated, and a that defeats the very object of the scheme will be firmly rejected.
The decision serves as an important precedent for divorced daughters across the country who may have been denied on the ground that their divorce occurred after their parent’s death. It clarifies that eligibility depends on the fact of divorce and dependency, not on the timing of the divorce relative to the pensioner’s demise.
