A husband is entitled to the pension benefits of his deceased wife, a railway employee, under Section 15 of the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, and Rule 74(4) of the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993.

( 1 ) THE present application is directed against order dated 23rd September, 2003 passed by the Central Administrative Tribunal hereinafter referred to as 'the Tribunal' in M. A. No. 15 of 2003, (0. A. No. 739 of 2002 ).

( 2 ) GRIEVANCES of the petitioner may briefly be stated as follows: petitioner, an U. D. Assistant in the Panda. R. Department, Government of west Bengal, got married to Runu Mukherjee, since deceased on 18. 06. 1998. After marriage they have been residing together as husband and wife. The said Runu Mukherjee was suffering from mental imbalance since prior to her marriage and, for this, she was under medical treatment. On 08. 04. 2002, she, while residing with her parents committed suicide by jumping on the track of Metro Railway at Jatin Das Park Station. Respondent No. 5 intimated the Officer-in-Charge of the Kalighat Police Station that they had no complaint against the petitioner in respect of such death. Petitioner handed over all the stridhan properties belonging to his wife, since deceased. and the same included the gold ornaments as well. The said wife of the petitioner was an employee of South Eastern Railway and by letter dated 27. 11. 2002 the petitioner approached the Railway authority to settle the dues and benefits arising out of death of his wife, Runu, who was a Railway employee. By letter dated 05. 12. 2002 the respondent No. 2 intimated the petitioner that the matter is sub-judice in O. A. No. 739 of 2002. On receipt of the same, the petitioner made enquiries and came to learn that the mother of his wife, since deceased, being respondent No. 5 filed an application under section 19 of the Administrative Tribunal Act seeking settlement of dues and release of the same on the strength of purported nomination made in her favour prior to her marriage with the petitioner. Railway authorities being respondent Nos. 1 to 4 filed an objection categorically stating therein that the present petitioner is the legitimate claimant of the said dues.

( 3 ) IN view of sub-rule (4) of Rule 74 of the Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993, the earlier nomination made before the marriage is invalid. Petitioner by filing an application being M. A. No. 15 of 2002 sought to be added as a party in the said proceeding and in response to the same, the Tribunal by order dated 02. 01. 2003 allowed the petitioner to be so added. Subsequently by order dated 23rd September, 2003, the Tribunal disposed of the matter with a direction upon the petitioner to produce a Succession Certificate before the respondent authorities.

( 4 ) BEING aggrieved by, and dissatisfied with, the said order dated 23rd september, 2003, the petitioner has filed instant application praying for setting aside of the same and for a direction upon the respondent authorities to settle the legitimate dues of the petitioner.

( 5 ) THOUGH much was sought to be stated regarding the suicidal death of the wife of the petitioner, it is perhaps not necessary to mention that then is hardly any scope for this Court within the scope of the present application to entertain such grievances. Every premature death is, no doubt, unfortunate and more so, when it is accidental or suicidal. But every suicidal death cannot carry a presumption of guilt against the near and dear ones of the victim. In the present case it appears that the mother-in-law of the victim by her letter dated 9th april, 2002 addressed to O. C. , Kalighat Police Station intimated that there is no grievance against the husband of the said deceased and no complaint was lodged by them.

( 6 ) ON the other hand, attention of the Court was drawn to the fact that the stridhan properties including the gold ornaments belonging to the wife of the petitioner, since deceased, were handed over to respondent No. 5 or her representatives. In any way, we are hardly concerned about that aspect within the scope and ambit of the present application.

( 7 ) IT appears from the materials on record