1. Widow claiming family pension from death of employee -- arrears from date of death vs. from date of application. (Para 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 )
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2026 Supreme(SC) 1084
SUPREME COURT OF INDIA
PRASHANT KUMAR MISHRA, SHREE CHANDRASHEKHAR, JJ.
Maya Banerjee – Appellant
Versus
Union of India & Ors. – Respondents
Civil Appeal Nos. of 2026 (Arising out of S.L.P. (Civil) Nos. of 2026) (@ Diary No. 43299 of 2024)
Decided On : 20-08-2026
Advocates appeared:
For the Petitioner(s): Mr. P. V. Yogeswaran, Adv. Mr. Y. Lokesh, Adv. Mr. Bibek Tripathi, Adv. Mr. Arun Singh, Adv. Mr. V. Kandha Prabhu, Adv. Ms. Dhatri Singh, Adv. Ms. Hari Preethi, Adv. Mr. Surya Narayana Patro, Adv. Mr. Guneswaran Pv, Adv. Mr. Ashish Kumar Upadhyay, AOR
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Anil Kaushik, A.S.G. Mr. Rajat Nair, Adv. Mr. Pranjal Singh, Adv. Ms. Nasadiya Singh, Adv. Mr. Ishaan Sharma, Adv. Mr. Vibhu Shankar Mishra, Adv. Mr. Amrish Kumar, AOR
For the Petitioner(s): Mr. P. V. Yogeswaran, Adv. Mr. Y. Lokesh, Adv. Mr. Bibek Tripathi, Adv. Mr. Arun Singh, Adv. Mr. V. Kandha Prabhu, Adv. Ms. Dhatri Singh, Adv. Ms. Hari Preethi, Adv. Mr. Surya Narayana Patro, Adv. Mr. Guneswaran Pv, Adv. Mr. Ashish Kumar Upadhyay, AOR
For the Respondent(s): Mr. Anil Kaushik, A.S.G. Mr. Rajat Nair, Adv. Mr. Pranjal Singh, Adv. Ms. Nasadiya Singh, Adv. Mr. Ishaan Sharma, Adv. Mr. Vibhu Shankar Mishra, Adv. Mr. Amrish Kumar, AOR
IMPORTANT POINT
Family Pension – Wife shall be entitled to family pension from date of death of her husband.
Headnote:
Service Law – Family Pension – Appellant shall be entitled to family pension from date of death of her husband – Appellant was not at fault in laying delayed challenge to Railways’ refusal to grant family pension to her – Considering right of an individual to receive family pension which is held akin to a valuable right and property in her hand and is no longer treated as a bounty, restricting the same from 2014 (When she first approached Central Administrative Tribunal) onwards would not only be arbitrary, but it will amount to inflicting injustice upon a poor widow who was earning livelihood by working as a house maid when her husband died in harness – Entire arrears shall be paid to appellant with 6% interest. (Paras 21 and 22)
Facts of the case:
A short question of importance is raised in these Appeals as to appellant's entitlement to arrears of family pension consequent upon death of her husband on 12.11.2000. However, High Court has allowed family pension to appellant from year 2014, the time when she first approached Central Administrative Tribunal, instead of allowing the same when it fell due upon death of her husband.
Findings of Court:
Entire arrears shall be paid to appellant with interest at the rate of 6% per annum within a period of three months from today.
Result : Appeals allowed.
Legal Category Hierarchy
Table of Contents
2. Appellant argues entitlement from death; Respondent urges restriction to three years prior to petition. (Para 7 , 8 )
3. Conflict between co-equal Benches -- earlier decision directly on point must be followed if later judgment ignores it. (Para 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 )
4. Earlier co-equal Bench decision not considered by later Bench is binding; widow entitled to family pension from husband's death. (Para 14 , 21 , 22 )
5. Appeals allowed -- High Court order modified -- family pension from date of death with arrears and interest. (Para 1 , 22 )
6. Is family pension a bounty or a valuable right?
It is a valuable right and property, not a bounty; culpable delay in settlement must attract payment of interest. (Para 10 )
7. When a later co-equal Bench judgment contradicts an earlier co-equal Bench judgment without considering it, which prevails?
The earlier judgment binds; the later judgment is per incuriam and must be referred to a larger Bench if disagreed with. (Para 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 )
8. Can a widow claim family pension from the date of her husband's death despite significant delay in approaching the court?
Yes, if delay due to ignorance, illiteracy, and employer's failure to compute pension; arrears should run from the due date. (Para 11 , 12 , 21 )
ORDER
1. Delay condoned.
2. Leave granted.
3. A short question of importance is raised in these Appeals as to the appellant's entitlement to arrears of family pension consequent upon the death of her husband on 12.11.2000. However, the High Court has allowed family pension to the appellant from the year 2014, the time when she first approached the Central Administrative Tribunal [For short, ‘CAT’], instead of allowing the same when it fell due upon the death of her husband.
4. As the facts of the matter are not in dispute, we shall refer to them very briefly. The appellant is the widow of Late K.M. Banerjee, an employee of Railways, who died on 12.11.2000 while in service as a Leverman. It is the appellant’s case that she was living separately from her husband on account of some dispute and she, being an illiterate lady, used to earn livelihood while offering maid services in the neighbourhood. The appellant was unknown about her husband’s service and his place of posting when he died on 12.11.2000 as per the death certificate (Annexure-P/3).
5. As per Railway Board’s Letter bearing No.E(D&A) 99 RG6-26 dated 19.06.2000 (RBE No. 115/2000), in the event of death of the charged employee during the pendency of the proceedings, the same should be closed immediately on the death of the charged railway servant. Despite this rule position, the appellant’s late husband was dismissed from service on 10.10.2001. On being aware of the said order of dismissal, the appellant preferred an appeal before the competent authority which was rejected on 24.07.2012 on the ground that the appeal was belatedly filed and that there were two varying dates of death available on record. Thereafter, the appellant served a legal notice on the respondent(s) seeking settlement of dues in her favour. However, when no action was taken thereon, the appellant preferred an original application which came to be dismissed by CAT on the ground of limitation.
6. In the meanwhile, the appellant also preferred a suit being Civil Suit No.269(A)/2014 seeking declaration about the date of death of her late husband which was decreed on 13.2.2015 declaring the date of death of her late husband as 12.11.2000. The said judgment and decree has attained finality.
7. The appellant thereafter moved the High Court by way of a writ petition in which the impugned order has been passed allowing the appellant’s claim to family pension. Yet the same has been restricted from the year 2014 onwards, the time when the appellant first approached the CAT.
8. It is argued that the appellant is entitled for family pension which fell due immediately after the death of her husband. Therefore, restricting the family pension from 2014 onwards is not in accordance with law.
9. Per contra, learned ASG appearing for the respondents would refer to the law laid down by this Court in Union of India and Others vs. Tarsem Singh, (2008) 8 SCC 648 to argue that the High Court has rightly restricted the consequential relief of recovery of arrears from 2014 onwards.
10. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and perused the material available on record.
11. In the matter of State of Kerala and Others vs. M. Padmanabhan Nair, (1985) 1 SCC 429 this Court had held that pension and gratuity are no longer any bounty to be distributed by the Government to its employees on their retirement, but have become, under the decisions of this Court, valuable rights and property in their hands and any culpable delay in settlement and disbursement thereof must be visited with penalty of payment of interest.
12. The issue as to when the past arrears of pension can be restricted to a particular period instead of allowing the same from the date it fell due was considered by this Court in the matter of S.K. Mastan Bee vs. General Manager, South Central Railway and Another, (2003) 1 SCC 184. In this case also, the claim for pension was moved by the widow of the deceased servant of the Railways, who died in harness on 21.11.1969. Ho
