The court emphasized that extraordinary family pension claims should be liberally interpreted, rejecting denial based on unsupported allegations of intoxication.

JUDGMENT :

The petitioner is the wife of the deceased Anil A, who was employed as Constable General duty in the 85^th Battalion (Bn) of Central Reserve Police Force (CPRF)deployed at Naxal infested area in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh

2.The late Anil A, was selected in the year 2004. While posted at Bijapur, he died on 24.03.2016 as he fell into a water tank and drowned. The petitioner was granted a family pension at the enhanced rate of Rs.15,700/- per month for the period from 25/03/2016 to 24/03/2026, and thereafter, at normal rate of Rs.9,420/- from 25.03.2026 till her date of death or remarriage, whichever is earlier vide the order dated 27.07.2017 issued by the 3^rd respondent, the Pay and Accounts Officer Central Pension Accounting Office, Ministry of Finance, Government of India.

3.The petitioner was also given Ex-gratia compensation of Rs. 10 lakhs and Rs.8 Lakhs as Risk Fund Final Payment and Rs. 2,50,000/- each to the parents of the deceased vide the order dated 17.09.2016. Besides the aforesaid amounts, the petitioner and her mother-in-law were given gratuity of Rs.6,22,952/-.

4. As the Husband of the petitioner died in the course of official duty, the petitioner had applied for a grant of extraordinary family pension as provided in terms of Central Civil Service (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1972 which are applicable to the personnel of CRPF. The petitioner’s claim for Extraordinary Family Pension has been rejected on the grounds that, as per the Court Of Inquiry (COI), the petitioner’s husband drowned in the water pond during the Holi celebration as he was in inebriated condition.

5.The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner’s husband’s cause of death, as mentioned in the Postmortem report, ‘is Asphyxia due to partial drowning’. There is nothing in the report that liquor or some intoxicant was found in the body of the petitioner’s husband during the postmortem report. It is not clear how the PAO could come to the conclusion that the petitioner’s husband was in an inebriated condition. It is submitted that the petitioner’s husband died while on duty, and therefore, the petitioner is entitled to Extraordinary Family Pension as per the CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules.

6.The learned counsel for the petitioner submitted that the rules providing for extraordinary family pension should be given a liberal interpretation inasmuch as the rules are welfare provisions, and are intended to support the families of personnel who perform difficult jobs in very hostile and adverse conditions.

7.The learned counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance on the judgment the case of Madan Singh V. Union of India [1999 (6) SCC 459] and judgment in Renu Devi V. Union of India [2020 (14) SCC 600]

8.Mr. Daya Sindhu Shreehari, the learned Central Government counsel, submits that on a faithful day, i.e., on 24.03.2016, the Holi festival was being celebrated in A/85 camp, Reddy, at a distance of around 25 km from Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh State. All coy personnel gathered at around 08:30 hrs at an identified place in the campus and started celebrating the Holi. After that, some coy personnel, along with the husband of the petitioner, moved to a water pond near the camp at a distance of around 200 meters. All coy personnel returned to the coy location except the husband of the petitioner. As late, Anil A was not found in the camp; he was searched in the adjacent area and found in the pond. Immediately, he was rescued out of the pond but was found in unconscious condition and struggling to breathe. After giving him first aid, he was rushed to the hospital at a distance of 07 km from the coy location, but due to the non- availability of an ECG facility, he was taken to the District Hospital, Bijapur, despite security threats from the Naxals enroute. While undergoing treatment at District Hospital Bijapur, he was declared dead. The postmortem report would suggest the cause of death was Asphyxia.

9.It is admitted in the counter