IMPORTANT POINT
Family Pension – Benefit of family pension accrues to family of deceased railway servant who died in harness after completion of one year of continuous service, without any discrimination, whether post was temporary or had been regularized.

JUDGMENT

SATISH CHANDRA SHARMA, J.

1. The Appellant herein is the widow of Late Shri Om Prakash Maharaj, a temporary employee with the Eastern Indian Railways, who died in harness on 10.07.1996, having completed 9 years 8 months and 26 days of service from the date of his appointment on 15.10.1986.

2. The Appellant had approached the Learned Central Administrative Tribunal vide O.A./050/00276/2014 seeking family pension from the date of death of her husband with all consequential benefits along with interest at the rate of 18% per annum, which was dismissed by the Learned Tribunal vide Judgment/Order dated 23.12.2015. Vide the said decision, the Learned Tribunal held that the claim of the Appellant was devoid of any merit, inasmuch as in absence of a document for regularization and permanent absorption of the husband of the Appellant, Appellant is not entitled for the grant of family pension. Even though, the deceased husband of the Appellant had reached the stage of screening for regularization of his employment with the Railways, the Learned Tribunal observed that “the screening will not confer any right to pension.”

3. Aggrieved thereby, the Appellant preferred a W. P. (C) No. 8524 of 2016 before the High Court of Judicature at Patna, which was ultimately dismissed vide Impugned Order dated 12.05.2016. In drawing reference to the decision in Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd. & Ors. v. Surji Devi, [2008] 2 SCC 310 the High Court observed that family pension is not admissible to the wife of an employee whose services were not regularized. It was further noted that since the service rendered by the husband of the Appellant is 9 years 8 months and 26 days, it falls short of 10 years, which is the minimum qualifying service for grant of family pension. The said Order is under challenge before this Court.

4. The factual conspectus of the captioned Appeal reveals that the deceased, Mr. Om Prakash Maharaj, was appointed “Summer Waterman”, Danapur, vide letter dated 15.10.1986 upon qualifying the medical examinations. Upon completion of more than 7 years of continuous service as a Substitute Porter, he cleared the Screening Test and was deputed at Garhara as a Guard/Shuntman upon instructions of the Dy. Chief Yard Master, Garhara. Unfortunately, on 10.07.1996, the deceased met with a fatal accident while at work and died in harness.

5. The deceased kept working as a ‘substitute’ till his death and had admittedly been in continuous service for 9 years 8 months and 26 days. Upon his demise, the Appellant wife has received ex-gratia to the next kin of deceased and was subsequently appointed as a Substitute Gangman on compassionate grounds, and the employment was regularized after completion of 120 days. The controversy arose when the Appellant wife sought family pension, which has been denied by the Railways on the premise that since the employment of the deceased had not been regularized, the question of family pension does not arise.

6. It was argued on behalf of the Appellant that Rule 1515 of the Indian Railway Establishment Manual confers upon the Substitutes, certain rights and privileges as may be admissible to temporary railway servants, from time to time, on completion of four (04) months of continuous service. In the same breadth, reliance was also placed on Rule 18(3) Railway Service (Pension) Rules, 1993 which extends benefit of family pension and death gratuity in the event of death in harness of a temporary railway servant on the same scale of a temporary railway servant. The said Rule read in conjunction with Rule 75(2)(a) of the Pension Rules, 1993 also confers upon the family of a railway servant, family pension (hereinafter in this rule referred to as family pension) under the Family Pension Scheme for Railway Servants, 1964, in the event a railway servant dies after competition of one year of continuous service. Indubitably, the deceased was in service for 9 years 8 months and 26 days till the date of his death, and in