A few questions affecting the pensioners, both retiring from service and retiring from life arise in this writ petition. What is the situation of a retired employee dying without submitting a formal application for pension? What is the date of effect of family pension under the liberalised family pension scheme? Date of death of the pensioner? Date of application? 01-01-1986 when the scheme was implemented?

2. Petitioner has two grievances: (1) non disbursement of the pensionary benefits due to her late husband K. Jaggafar; and (2) non disbursement of family pension under the liberalised family pension scheme with effect from 1-1-1986. Late Jaggafar was a Drill Teacher in an aided school, of which the 3rd respondent is the headmaster. He retired from service in March 1963. He retired from life on 12-12-1968. Till his death or even thereafter no orders were passed with regard to the pensionary benefits. It is not in dispute that Jaggafar was entitled to pension. The reason stated for not sanctioning the pension was that the Teacher had applied for the pension only after his retirement. It is profitable to refer to the statement filed on behalf of the first respondent Deputy Director of Education:-

“As per the report of the Headmaster it is seen that the teacher had applied for pension only on 2-3-1964. As per the rules the pension proposal should have been submitted one year ahead of actual date of retirement. Such a mandatory formality had not been complied with by the teacher. It is submitted that the pension proposal had been returned by the second respondent District Educational officer on 16-5-1965 for re-submission after curing the defects. Thereafter the proposal had not been resubmitted. The teacher had not taken any steps for sanction of his pension till his death. Law is well settled that court will not lend its arm to those who are not vigilant. There is inordinate delay in resubmission of the proposal. The defective application cannot be treated as a valid submission for the grant of monetary benefits.”

3. Part III of the Kerala Service Rules deals with pension. Rules 114 and 115 extensively deal with the procedure to be taken by the head of office in the matter of grant of pension. It is seen that the head of office has to initiate steps for getting the pension papers duly prepared by a retiring employee and that such steps are to be taken one year in advance of the date on which the government employee attains the age of superannuation. To the extent relevant the Rules read as follows:-

“114. Every Head of Office shall undertake the work of preparing pension papers one year in advance of the date on which a Government employee is due to retire on superannuation or on the date on which he proceeds on leave preparatory to retirement, whichever is earlier. This work shall not be delayed till the Government employee has actually submitted his formal application for pension.

115. (a) As the first step, the Head of Office shall send to every non-gazetted employee a copy of Form II (Formal application for pension) one year in advance of the date on which the Government employee attains the age of superannuation or before the date of his anticipated retirement if earlier, requiring him to return it duly filled in along with necessary documents within a period of three months; but in no case later than the actual date of retirement.

Under Rule 110 “every Government employee shall submit a formal application for pension in Form II”. However, it can be seen from Rule 110 that even the formal application has to be submitted one year in advance of the date of anticipated retirement. However, it is provided that if a Government employee dies without making a formal application before his retirement, the competent authority is empowered to relax the rigor of the rule and sanction pension and gratutity due to the Government employee “as if he had made a formal application for the same before retirement”. To the extent relev