ORDER

By way of filing this Original Application the applicant is claiming family pension after the death of her father.

2. The brief facts of the case is that the father of the applicant while working with the respondents under the capacity of Supervisor died on 07.02.1985. A copy of death certificate is annexed as Annexure A-1. After the death of father of the applicant, the mother was getting family pension. Copy of Pension Payment Order is being filed as Annexure A-2. The applicant has been living separately as divorced wife with her mother from 23.11.2009. The copy of separation order dated 23.11.2009 is annexed as Annexure A-3. The mother of the applicant died on 11.05.2017. A copy of death certificate is annexed as Annexure A-4. After the death of mother the applicant, who was living with her mother is entitled for family pension and for that applicant submitted representation to the respondent authorities for grant of family pension in the capacity of a divorced daughter. On 05.07.2017 the respondent authority asked the applicant to submit application form for grant of family pension alongwith all the relevant documents. Copy of the letter dated 05.07.2017 is annexed as Annexure A-5. On 24.08.2018, the Learned Court after taking into consideration separation dated 23.11.2009, pleased to pass the decree of the divorce, which is annexed as Annexure A-7. Despite after submitting application form, the respondent authority is not sanctioning the family pension in favour of application without any justifiable reason.

3. The main grounds for challenging the action of the respondents is that the applicant is a divorced daughter and has been denied the family pension after the death of her mother by the respondent department for no reasons.

Instead after production of the decree the respondent authority is causing delay in releasing family pension is bad in the eyes of law.

4. The respondents have filed their short reply. In the short reply the respondents submitted that the father of the applicant was working with the respondent No. 2 and during the course of service he died on 07.02.1985 and the family pension has been sanctioned in favour of her mother. The mother of the applicant also died on 01.05.2017. The divorce of the applicant took place on 24.08.2018. For granting family pension to a divorced daughter, it is pertinent to mention that, the Ordnance Factory Board, Kolkata vide its letter dated 31.08.2017 has forwarded the copy of O.M. dated 19.07.2017 issued by the Ministry of Personnel P.G. & Pensions, Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare.

In the said O.M. in para 4 it is clearly mentioned that “a daughter if eligible, as explained in the preceding paragraph, may be granted family pension provided she fulfils all eligibility conditions at the time of death/ineligibility of her parents and still on the date her turn to receive family pension comes. Accordingly, divorced daughters who fulfill other conditions are eligible for family pension if a decree of divorce had been issued by the competent court during the life time of at least one of the parents.”

4.1 In the instant case, divorce has been filed after the death of employee i.e. on 01.02.2018 by applicant’s husband before the Hon’ble Family Court and divorce decree took place after the death of employee/pensioner i.e. on 24.08.2018. Hence as per O.M. dated 19.07.2017 and CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972 for grant of family pension to a divorced daughter, the applicant does not fulfills all the eligibility conditions at the time of death/ineligibility of her parents. Therefore, applicant is not entitled for the same.

5. The applicant has filed the rejoinder to the short reply filed by the respondents, wherein he re-iterated its earlier stand as taken in the O.A. The applicant submitted that the applicant and her husband mutually separated on 23.11.2009 and from that date