A remarried widow with independent income is ineligible for family pension, allowing dependent parents to claim it instead.

ORDER

Applicant is the mother of late Praveen, who was a Safaiwala in Palakkad Division of the Southern Railway, who died of Covid on 07.11.2020. At that time, he was married to the 5^th respondent, Vinita. According to the applicant, after about one month of the death of her son, 5^th respondent left her matrimonial home and started residing with her parents in her paternal home at Varkala. Subsequently, 5^th respondent was married to one Anoop, a professional carpenter. The 5^th respondent is well-off and has independent source of income. Thus after the second marriage, her right to receive family pension was ceased. The applicant represented before the official respondents that right of the 5^th respondent to receive family pension has been ceased and the same may be transferred her as the dependent mother. The 5^th respondent did not respond the cells for transferring the right. Aggrieved by the same, the applicant approached the Maintenance Tribunal under the Maintenance and Welfare of Parents and Senior Citizen Act at Palakkad seeking to assign the family pension of her son in her favour. But the Maintenance Tribunal issued a direction to the Railway authorities to consider grant of family pension to the applicant. Thereafter, the applicant made representation but that has not been considered and ultimately, by Annexure-A6 order dated 30.11.2023, her request for granting family pension of her son has been rejected, against the same, she has approached this Tribunal for granting a declaration that the 5^th respondent having income exceeding minimum prescribed family pension in the Central Government is ineligible to receive family pension, to call for the records leading to Annexure-A6 and quash the same, to declare that the applicant who is unemployed and dependent mother is eligible for family pension after the childless remarried widow ceased to be eligible to receive the family pension.

2. According to the applicant, as per the extant instructions and guidelines as seen from Annexure-A7, since the issueless widow has remarried and has sufficient income, income exceeding the family pension payable to her, the mother who was dependent on the son is entitled to get family pension. She has been illegally denied the benefit so that the Annexure-A6 cannot stand scrutiny.

3. The respondents have denied the claim of the applicant. They have agreed that Praveen had died due to Covid and the applicant is a category-II pensioner as per Annexure-A7 and other relevant instructions. After the death of Praveen, family pension was sanctioned to the 5^th respondent, the widow. Later, the applicant had informed them that the 5^th respondent has remarried. Accordingly, the family pension was withheld from February 2023. Thereafter, an enquiry was done by the Welfare Inspector and it was confirmed that the 5^th respondent has entered into a second marriage and the marriage certificate was obtained. Referring to Annexures-R1 and R2 they say that, ordinarily, parents may be entitled to get family pension in exclusion of the widow, if the independent income of the widow from all other sources becomes equal to or higher than that prescribed for dependency criterion under the Rules. They have also relied on Annexures-R1 to R6 and said that the applicant is not entitled to get any relief.

4. I heard Smt. Priya Carol, learned counsel for the applicant and Smt.Mini R Menon, learned Additional Central Government Standing Counsel for the respondents 1 to 4.

5. It is not disputed that the applicant is the mother of Praveen, who was a Safaiwala in the Palakkad Division of the Southern Railway. He was appointed as such on 23.12.2016 and had passed away on 07.11.2020 due to Covid. The 5^th respondent is the widow of Praveen. After the death of Praveen, as provided under the Rules and guidelines, widow was granted pension. On information furnished by the applicant the respondents came to understand that the 5^th respondent entered into a second marriage, so that, from