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BEFORE THE MADURAI BENCH OF MADRAS HIGH COURT
THE HONOURABLE MRS.JUSTICE L.VICTORIA GOWRI
A.Jasintha - Petitioner
Versus
The Principal Accountant General (A&E) and ors. – Respondents
W.P.(MD)No.21964 of 2023 and W.M.P.(MD)No.18316 of 2023
Decided On : 02-11-2023
FAMILY PENSION - DESERTED DAUGHTER ELIGIBILITY - G.O.Ms.No.325, Article 14, Article 15, Article 21, Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978 - The court examined the provisions of G.O.Ms.No.325, which provides family pension to unmarried, divorced, and widowed daughters of government employees, and interpreted the eligibility criteria. The court highlighted the need for a liberal interpretation of the rules to include deserted daughters, emphasizing the principles of equality and non-discrimination under Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution. The court concluded that excluding deserted daughters from the pension scheme is arbitrary and discriminatory, thus influencing its decision to quash the impugned order and direct the grant of family pension to the petitioner.
Fact of the Case:
The petitioner, a deserted daughter of a deceased government employee, sought family pension after her mother's death. The claim was rejected based on G.O.Ms.No.325, which only recognized unmarried, divorced, and widowed daughters as eligible for family pension. The petitioner argued that being deserted is akin to being divorced, and thus she should be entitled to the same benefits.
Finding of the Court:
The court found that the exclusion of deserted daughters from the family pension scheme is arbitrary and violates the principles of equality and non-discrimination. It emphasized the need for a broader interpretation of the eligibility criteria to include all destitute daughters, including those who are deserted.
Issues: Whether the exclusion of deserted daughters from the family pension scheme under G.O.Ms.No.325 is discriminatory and violates Articles 14 and 15 of the Constitution.
Ratio Decidendi: The court held that the classification of daughters into unmarried, divorced, and widowed while excluding deserted daughters is arbitrary. It emphasized that the right to livelihood is integral to the right to live, and the government must ensure that all destitute daughters are provided for under the pension scheme.
Final Decision: The court quashed the impugned order and directed the respondents to grant family pension to the petitioner, interpreting the eligibility criteria of G.O.Ms.No.325 in a liberal manner to include deserted daughters.
ORDER :
The prayer in the writ petition is as follows :-
PRAYER : Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of the Constitution of India for issuance of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, calling for the records relating to the impugned order passed by the second respondent in his proceedings in Pen23/1/Pt.10100/23-24 dated 20.06.2023 and quash the same as illegal and consequentially to direct the respondents to grant family pension to the petitioner arising out of the State Government civil service of petitioner's deceased father Late.Adaikalasamy within the period.
This Writ Petition has been filed for issuance of a Writ of Certiorarified Mandamus, to quash the impugned order passed by the second respondent in his proceedings in Pen23/1/Pt. 10100/23-24 dated 20.06.2023 and to direct the respondents to grant family pension to the petitioner arising out of the State Government civil service of petitioner's deceased father Late.Adaikalasamy.
– Manusmruthi
'Where women are honored, divinity blossoms there and where women are dishonored all action no matter how noble remain unfruitful'
2.Prelude :-
The concern about the position of deserted women in India has neither been adequate nor satisfactory. The Government of Tamil Nadu vide G.O.Ms.No.325 of Department of Finance (Pension) dated 28.11.2011 has introduced a pension scheme for the unmarried/divorced/widowed daughters of Government Employees. The said G.O. is a measure of social security targeted on women who are considered as destitutes. An unmarried/divorced/widowed daughter of a Government employee is considered a destitute, if she is without any regular income with less than a monthly income of Rs.2,550/-. The instant case is the case of a daughter seeking family pension arising out of State Government civil service of the petitioner's deceased father late. Adaikalasamy.
3.The factual matrix of the case :-
The petitioner's father late. Adaikalasamy worked as PG Assistant till his superannuation on 30.06.1993. Till his date of death on 08.05.2019, he was sanctioned with civil pension for his service as BT Assistant. After his demise, his wife late. Mary was sanctioned with family pension and she was receiving the same till her death on 06.04.2020. After the demise of Mrs.Mary, the petitioner being the deserted daughter of late Adaikalasamy applied for the family pension vide her proposal, which was forwarded to the second respondent by the fourth respondent. In response to her proposal, the second respondent passed the impugned order addressed to the fourth respondent vide proceedings dated 20.06.2023 rejecting the petitioner's claim for family pension on the ground that as per G.O.Ms.No.325 dated 28.11.2011 only unmarried/divorced/widowed daughters are eligible to receive family pension. The petitioner since being a deserted daughter, she is not eligible for family pension. Challenging the same, this writ petition came to be filed.
4.Heard Mr.H.Mohammed Imran, learned counsel for M/s.Ajmal Associates, appearing for the petitioner, Mrs.S.Mahalakshmi, learned counsel appearing for the respondents 1 and 2, Mr.N.Ramesh Arumugam, learned Government Advocate appearing for the respondents 3 and 4 and perused the entire materials available on record.
5.Submissions :-
5.1.The learned counsel for the petitioner Mr.Mohammed Imran submitted that the petitioner was married to one Charles in the year 2005. They lived together for two years until he deserted the petitioner in the year 2007. He was mentally unstable and he was from Srilanka. Hence, without information, the petitioner's husband left for Srilanka. Thereafter, she had been living with her parents till their death.
5.2.The learned counsel vehemently submitted that a daughter who was deserted by the husband, is in no way different from a divorced daughter. The only thing different between the two categories of women is the legal pr
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Divorced daughter ineligible for family pension if divorce proceedings initiated and decree obtained after parent's death; customary dissolutions like Muthalika invalid without court decree or proven....
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