The legally wedded wife of a deceased government servant is entitled to family pension, overriding prior nominations, and a succession certificate is not required for such claims.

Order :

1. By way of the present writ petition preferred under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has challenged the communications dated 07.06.2016, 11.06.2016, 15.07.2017 and 21.03.2018, whereby the respondents have asked the petitioner to furnish a succession certificate, if she wants to get family pension in lieu of services, which her husband-Late Shri Manjeet Singh (hereinafter referred to as ‘deceased government servant’) had rendered with Union of India.

2. The petitioner has also prayed that the respondents be directed to give compassionate appointment to her, as per criteria prescribed.

3. The needful facts are that petitioner’s husband-Manjeet Singh was appointed as Constable (GD) on 07.07.2012. At the time of his appointment he was a bachelor, hence, while submitting his documents including nomination for pension etc., he nominated his mother (Santosh Devi) to receive pensionary benefits and other rights flowing from his employment.

4. Manjeet Singh, then married to the petitioner on 14.01.2013 and within less than two years, he passed away in a road accident on 14.02.2015.

5. Since, he had nominated his mother, the terminal benefits were paid to her and Pension Payment Order (PPO) was also issued in her name on 30.03.2015.

6. As per the facts asserted, the petitioner had lodged an FIR (FIR No. 10/2016) alleging offences under sections 498-A, 406, 323 and 354 of Indian Penal Code.

7. In order to get the said FIR quashed, a criminal misc. petition (being Criminal Misc. Petition No.900/2016) came to be filed before this Court, which came to be disposed of on 27.10.2017 in terms of the compromise dated 07.05.2016, which the petitioner had entered into with her father-in-law and mother-in-law.

8. The relevant part of the compromise reads thus:-

9. The petitioner, thereafter, moved an application dated 07.10.2016 and requested the Director General of Border Security Force for payment of family pension to her. Alongwith the application, the petitioner had produced various documents including certified copy of the claim petition filed in Motor Accident Claims Tribunal, copy of Driving License, copy of Aadhar Card and copy of invitation card of the wedding and an affidavit and certificate from the Sarpanch evincing proof of her marriage with the deceased government employee.

10. Instead of changing the beneficiary of the family pension, the respondents sent a communication dated 07.06.2016 and asked the petitioner to produce a succession certificate to establish the factum of her marriage. The said communication was followed by another communications dated 11.06.2016, 15.07.2017 and 21.03.2018.

11. At the insistence of the respondents, the petitioner even moved an application dated 08.07.2016 for the purpose of getting family pension and for issuance of succession certificate (under section 372 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 (hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act of 1925’)).

12. Learned Additional District and Sessions Judge, Deedwana, however, rejected petitioner’s application filed under section 372 of the Act of 1925 by way of order dated 08.05.2023 inter-alia holding that no succession certificate can be issued for grant of family pension and compassionate appointment, while relying upon certain judgments.

13. Mr. Choudhary, learned counsel for the petitioner argued that the respondents cannot insist upon furnishing of succession certificate, as the family pension is neither a debt nor a security as prescribed under section 370(2) of the Act of 1925. He re