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HIGH COURT OF TRIPURA AGARTALA W.A. No.3 7 of 2026 Smt. Ujjwala Rani Paul, D/O. Lt. Rash Bihari Paul, R/O. Dhaleswar, Road No.3, P.O.-Dhaleswar, P.S.-East Agartala, District-West Tripura.

……… Appellant(s).

V E R S U S

1. Agartala Municipal Corporation, To be represented by the Municipal Commissioner, AMC, City center, Paradise Chowmuhani, P.O.-Agartala, Agartala, West Tripura-799001.

2. The Municipal Commissioner, Agartala Municipal Corporation, City center, Paradise Chowmuhani, P.O.-Agartala, Agartala, West Tripura-799001.

3. The State of Tripura, To be represented by the Secretary, Urban Development Department, Govt. of Tripura, Agartala, New Secretariat Building, Kunjaban, P.S.-New Capital Complex, Agartala, West Tripura, PIN-

799010.

4. The Secretary, Finance Department, Govt. of Tripura, Agartala, New Secretariat Building, Kunjaban, P.S.-New Capital Complex, Agartala, West Tripura, PIN-799010.

5. The Director, Urban Development Department, Govt. of Tripura, Near Rabindra Satabarsiki Bhavan, P.O.-Agartala, Pin-799001, West Tripura.

6. The Principal Accountant General, O/o the Accountant General (A & E), Tripura, Agartala, P.O.-Kunjaban, West Tripura, PIN-799006.

7. The Senior Accounts Officer, O/o the Principal Accountant General (A &

E), Tripura, Agartala, P.O.-Kunjaban, West Tripura, PIN-799006.

………Respondent(s).

For Appellant(s) : Mr. Purusuttam Roy Barman, Sr. Advocate, Mr. Samarjit Bhattacharjee, Advocate.

For Respondent(s) : Mr. Dipankar Sarma, Addl. G.A., Mr. Arijit Bhaumik, Advocate, Mr. Agniva Chakraborti, Advocate.

HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. M.S. RAMACHANDRA RAO HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE BISWAJIT PALIT CAV reserved on : 03.08.2026. Judgment delivered on : 18.08.2026.

Whether fit for reporting : YES.

JUDGMENT & ORDER (M.S. Ramachandra Rao, C.J.)

1) Heard Mr. Purusuttam Roy Barman, learned senior counsel assisted by Mr. Samarjit Bhattacharjee, counsel appearing for the appellant as well as Mr. Arijit Bhaumik, counsel appearing for the respondents-Agartala Municipal Corporation and Mr. Dipankar Sarma, Addl. Government Advocate appearing for the respondents-State.

2) This Writ Appeal is preferred against the judgment dt. 01.04.2026 of the learned Single Judge in WP(C) No.132 of 2025.

3) The appellant is the daughter of an employee of the Agartala Municipal Corporation who superannuated on 01.10.2004. After his superannuation, he was receiving pension as per the applicable rules.

4) He died on 02.12.2018. His wife had predeceased him.

5) At the time of the death of the said employee, the appellant was married to one Pradip Saha. The parties filed for mutual consent divorce before the Judge, Family Court, Agartala which was granted on 04.10.2021.

6) The appellant then applied on 23.02.2022 for Family Pension as per the Tripura State Civil Services (Revised Pension) Rules, 2017.

7) Her request was rejected by the Agartala Municipal Corporation on 04.10.2024 on the ground that the Memorandum No.F.8(8)-FIN-(G)/96 (P- II)/511, dt.28.03.2018 enabling a divorcee daughter of a State Government pensioner to get Family Pension admissible in the event of death of the pensioner, had not yet been adopted and ratified by the said Corporation and therefore, her case for payment of such pension cannot be considered.

8) Appellant then filed the WP(C) No.132 of 2025 challenging the said rejection of her claim for Family Pension.

9) In the Writ Petition, she contended that a few days after her marriage, her husband went missing, that she then took shelter in her father’s house, and that she was living there for more than 40(forty) years. In support of the said plea, she relied on the judgment and decree dt.04.10.2021 of the Judge, Family Court, Agartala, West Tripura which granted divorce to the parties on mutual consent basis to which decree was annexed the pleas in the Mutual Consent divorce application.

10) She contended that Vide a notification issued on 21.12.1991 by the Local State Government department of the Government of Trip