Jawahar Lal Gupta, J.

1. Can the parents of a deceased government employee be excluded from the definition of Family and denied the benefit of family pension ? The learned Single Judge has taken the view that "there is no justification for excluding father and mother of an unmarried deceased Government servant from the definition of family for the purposes of grant of family pension..." The State of Punjab questions the decision and has filed this appeal. A few facts may be noticed.

2. Daljit Singh joined service as a Clerk in the office of the Inspector General of Police in the year 1973. He unfortunately expired in 1985. After his death, the parents of Daljit Singh applied for the grant of family pension. Their claim was declined. They filed Civil Writ Petition No. 11118 of 1989. They prayed for the issue of a writ of mandamus directing the respondents to release the family pension from the date of death of Daljit Singh.

3. The State of Punjab contested this claim. A written statement was filed by Mr. Harbans Lal Kapoor, Superintendent of Police. It was averred that the petitioners were entitled to the payment of ex-gratia grant. However, the grant of family pension was c