ORDER

Date : 24.05.2022 Heard Mr. D.K. Bordoloi, learned counsel for the petitioner. Also heard Mr.

D. Bora, learned Govt. Advocate appearing for the State respondent nos. 1, 2 and 4 and Mr. S. Muktar, learned counsel for respondent no.5.

2. By filing this writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the petitioner has prayed for the following reliefs:

i) Directing the respondents to release the family pension along with the death cum other retirement benefits as admissible by the law of their deceased father to the physically challenged/specially able brother of the petitioner.

ii) To set aside/quash the death-cum-retirement benefit claim of the respondent no.5 based on her forged documents and/or her claim as a wife of Late Rahim Ali.

iii) To pay any other legal/equitable benefits along with the family pension as admissible under the provisions of Pension Policy which will fully protect the brother of the petitioner for ends of justice.

3. The learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that his father, namely, Rahim Ali, was working as Havildar in the Office of Assam Police Special Branch, Headquarter, in the rank of Head Constable and was last posted at Barpeta. It is claimed that on 18.02.2018, the father of the petitioner was admitted at Apollo Hospital, Guwahati, where he died on 19.02.2018, at 3:46 am, due to sepsis with multi organ dysfunction. In this regard, reliance is placed on the death certificate issued on 08.03.2018 by the Registrar (Birth and Death) Kamrup (Metro), Guwahati. The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that at the time of death, his father had left behind 4 children, out of which the youngest son, namely, Soni Ali is a mentally challenged person with parmanent physical disability. It was submitted that the mother of the petitioner had pre- deceased his father on 28.12.2000. The grievance of the petitioner is that the respondent no.5 has illegally and fraudulently claimed to be the wife of his deceased father, and had fraudulently prepared a manufactured death certificate of his father, showing as if he had died in village Khandakarpara in Barpeta District. It is also submitted that the marriage certificate, wherein it is shown as if the marriage of respondent no.5 was solemnized with the father of the petitioner on 01.08.1997, was also a manufactured document. It is submitted that if the same is assumed to be correct, then the age of the respondent no.5, at the time of her marriage was 13 years, which should make the marriage void ab initio. It is also submitted that his differently abled brother, Soni Ali is entitled to family pension on the basis of Rule 143-C of the Assam Services (Pension) Rules, 1969 (hereinafter referred to as “1969 Rules” for brevity). In support of his submissions that his mentally challenged brother would be entitled to family pension under Rule 143-C of the 1969 Rules, the learned counsel for the petitioner has placed reliance on the judgment and order dated 17.12.2018 passed by this Court in WP(C)4990/2017-Juri Deka vs. The State of Assam & 6 Ors.

4. The learned counsel for the petitioner has also submitted that as per the disability certificate (Annexure II to the affidavit-in-reply filed on 03.03.2022), the brother of the petitioner was suffering from mental retardation. He also relies on the Mental Retardation Certificate issued by the Bhella Mini Primary Health Centre (Annexure VI in this writ petition). The learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the petitioner is taking care of his mentally challenged brother. It is also submitted that the alleged marriage of the respondent no.5 with his father was void in view of the provisions of Rule 24 of the Assam Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, being a bigamous marriage, that was contracted during the subsistence of the previous marriage of his now deceased father with his predeceased mother.

5. Per-contra the learned Govt. Advocate has submitted that in the service book of the father of th