O R D E R

Applicant claims that she is the widow of P.M.Rahim, who was a Peon under the 4^th respondent, Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer, Southern Railway, Trivandrum. Sri.Rahim had passed away on 19.04.2015. The grievance of the applicant is that the respondents had not paid pension and other retiral benefits to Rahim, after the death of the husband she was not granted family pension and other retiral benefits. Aggrieved by the same, earlier, she had approached this Tribunal with O.A.746/2018. This Tribunal, by order dated 28.10.2019, directed the respondents to consider and dispose of the claim of the applicant within three months from the date of receipt of a copy of the order. However, by Anneure-A13 order the claim of the applicant was rejected, they have illegally asked the applicant to produce a decree from a Court of competent jurisdiction establishing her status as the wife of late P.M.Rahim and a succession certificate issued by a competent civil authority enabling the children born to late P.M.Rahim to get the benefits which were due to Rahim. Aggrieved by the same, the applicant has approached this Tribunal for quashing Annexure-A13 issued by the 5^th respondent and to declare that a decree from a Court of law is not necessary to prove the divorce and subsequent marriage of a Muslim man, to declare that legal heirship certificate is sufficient for processing the death benefits of an employee of the respondents and to insist succession certificate is arbitrary and illegal, to declare that the applicant is entitled to receive the terminal benefits of her late husband, to direct the respondents to effect payment without any further delay, to declare that the applicant is entitled for family pension of her late husband and to direct the 5^th respondent to sanction pension in the name of her late husband from the date of his compulsory retirement and family pension to the applicant from the date of his death.

2. The applicant says that she is the second wife of late P.M.Rahim, who was compulsorily retired from the service of the 4^th respondent on 03.06.1998. Thereafter, his retirement benefits were denied, he was not granted pension and other retiral benefits; though appeal and revisions were filed against the order of compulsory retirement, both were rejected, thereafter retiral benefits were not granted to him and the late husband had made repeated representations. After his death the applicant also made representations, when that did not work, she moved this Tribunal with O.A.746/2018, which was disposed of as aforementioned. Now, that representation has been illegally rejected by Annexure-A13 and that made her to approach the Tribunal again.

3. The applicant submits that herself and her five minor children are living in penurious condition, that the legitimate retiral benefits should have been granted to P.M.Rahim, which were not granted; he also should have been granted pension as he had put in more than 15 years of service as stated by the respondents in Anneure- A5 communication. Still pension and family pension were not granted, which is illegal, arbitrary and unjust.

4. The respondents have denied the claims made by the applicant. According to them, the very status of the applicant as the widow of Rahim is not accepted. Pursuant to Annexure-A11 order of this Tribunal, Annexure-A13 was issued. Before that they had found that the husband of the applicant was entitled to get Rs.41,022/-

towards service gratuity, retirement gratuity, group insurance and provident fund. But he did not submit necessary declaration etc., so that, that were not processed or issued. Thereafter, through Annexures-R1 and R2 communications, Smt. Suhara, whose name appears as per the family composition as the wife, was informed to produce a decree from a Court of competent jurisdiction establishing her status as the wife of Rahim and a succession certificate issued by a competent civil authority enabling her children born to late P.M.Rahim