Point of Law: Family pension - Legally married wife is liable for pension - Liability of First wife to get pension - Petitioner is legally married wife of deceased and they have three sons out of their wedlock and all of them are major. Claim of petitioner to benefit of family pension is maintainable in legal parlance, whereas claim of respondent No. 7- second wife is not tenable.

ORDER :

Heard Mr. P. Sharma, learned counsel appearing for the petitioner. Also heard Mr. D. Gogoi, learned standing counsel appearing for the respondent Nos.1—4 and Mr. B.D. Das, learned senior counsel appearing for and on behalf of the respondent No.7. None is present for and on behalf of the respondent Nos.5 & 6.

2. The case of the petitioner in short is that her husband Late Biseswar Boro was a Khalachi in the PHE Department, Diphu in Karbi Anglong District, who retired from service on 28.02.2009 and during his lifetime he draw his pension amount in the State Bank of India, Bokajan Branch. The husband of the petitioner died on 23.04.2012, leaving behind the petitioner and their three sons. On his death, the petitioner approached the respondent authorities claiming the family pension of her deceased husband. On her query, the petitioner was informed that the family pension of her husband was sanctioned to the respondent No.7, who was not known to her.

3. On the RTI reply, it came to the knowledge of the petitioner that her husband Late Biseswar Boro submitted family bio-data and a group photograph along with his wife Kabe Ingtipo/respondent No.7 and the same was submitted before the respondent No.2 for pension and accordingly his pension was granted to her. The petitioner begs to state that her husband, during his lifetime, neither married her nor stayed with respondent No.7, and she in collusion with the respondent authorities have incorporated her name in the pension documents as well as service book of the petitioner’s husband.

4. After getting the information, the petitioner submitted a petition on 24.11.2012 before the Executive Engineer, PHE Department, Diphu (respondent No.4), to verify the authenticity of the claim of the petitioner for family pension and till the final result come out, to stop the sanction of the family pension to any other person than the petitioner but till the filing of the petition, no action is taken from the side of the respondent authorities and the petitioner is constrained to approach this Court for redressal of her grievances.

5. In response to the claim of the present petitioner, the respondent No.4 filed their affidavit in reply stating that the husband of the petitioner Late Biseswar Boro was an employee of the Diphu (PHE) Division, who retired on 28.02.2009 and after his retirement, he got pension vide PPO No.90720107355 and at the time of submitting his requisite documents for pension, he submitted a joint photograph with Smti. Kabe Ingtipi as his wife along with family bio-data. Accordingly the Accountant General (A & E), Assam had sanctioned the pension of Late Biseswar Boro to the employee during his lifetime and the family bio-data, as given by Late Biseswar Boro was entered in the pension paper and the same was sent to the Accountant General office and hence the question of verification of authenticity of the claim for family pension by the answering respondent No.4 does not arise.

6. The respondent No.2, the Principal Accountant General (A&E), Assam also filed their affidavit in the present writ petition, wherein it is stated that Late Biseswar Boro was a Khalasi in the PHE Department, Diphu, Karbi Anglong, who retired on from service w.e.f. 28.02.2009 (AN). After receipt of his pension papers from the departmental authority, vide PPO No.907201017355 forwarded the letter dated 23.06.2010, to the Treasury Officer, Diphu with the request to make the necessary arrangement for payment of pension to the retired official. While authorizing the PPO, the name of family pensioner was recorded as Smti. Kabe Ingtipi (respondent No.7) as the wife of the employee, on the basis of the records/pension forms, furnished by the pension forwarding authority i.e. the Executive Engineer, PHE Department, Diphu, in Pension Paper Form No.2 and in the list of family members in Form.1A (duly signed by the retired official and countersigned by the Executive Engineer, PHE Department, Diphu), besides the joint p