Smt. Imrana Khatoon vs Union Of India & Ors.

The applicant has approached this Tribunal under Section 19 of the Administrative Tribunals Act, 1985, seeking grant of family pension after the death of her mother, Smt. Hamsiran, who died on 11.04.2010. The reliefs sought by the applicant are as follows:-

The brief facts of the case, as pleaded by the applicant, are that her father, Shri Istiyak Ali, was employed as a Group-D employee in the respondent department and retired from service on 31.01.2002. After his death on 06.04.2006, family pension was sanctioned in favour of his wife, Smt. Hamsiran. She also died on 11.04.2010, whereupon the family pension was discontinued. The applicant claims family pension as the divorced daughter of the deceased pensioner.

The applicant has pleaded that her marriage was solemnized with Shri Abid Ali, son of Shri Tahir Ali, on 10.06.1998, and two daughters were born out of the wedlock. She alleges that, owing to harassment and demands for dowry, she was compelled to leave her matrimonial home along with her daughters and started residing with her parents. According to her, the marriage was dissolved on 07.01.2007 by oral divorce in accordance with Muslim customs.

Learned counsel for the applicant submitted that she was residing with her parents during their lifetime. After the death of her mother on 11.04.2010, she approached the respondent department for grant of family pension and was advised to obtain a divorce decree from a competent court. Accordingly, she filed Case No. 166 of 2013, Smt. Imrana Khatoon v. Abid Ali, before the Family Court, Ghaziabad, and an ex parte decree of divorce was passed on 20.07.2015. Learned counsel further submitted that a divorce certificate dated 10.09.2017 was issued by the Shahi Imam, Shahi Masjid Fatehpuri, Chandni Chowk, Delhi, stating that the divorce under Muslim customs had taken effect on 07.01.2007. The said certificate has been filed as Annexure No. 9 to the Original Application. It was, therefore, contended that the applicant had been dependent on her parents since the divorce and was entitled to family pension. However, her claim was rejected by the respondents vide the impugned orders. Learned counsel also relied upon the judgment of the Ahmedabad Bench of this Tribunal in Ms. Najmaben Umarbhai Kureshi v. The Secretary to the Government of India and Others.

Per contra, learned counsel for the respondents, in their counter affidavit, submitted that Shri Istiyak Ali retired from the Department of Posts on 31.01.2002 and was issued PPO No. LKO (P) 32923. After his death on 06.04.2006, family pension was sanctioned in favour of his wife, Smt. Hamsiran, vide PPO No. LKO (P) 20680/S. Following her death on 11.04.2010, the family pension was discontinued as no eligible dependent family member was found entitled to receive it. The respondents further submitted that the applicant instituted divorce proceedings on 02.04.2013 in Case No. 166 of 2013, which were decided on 20.07.2015. Therefore, her claim that the divorce had taken place on 07.01.2007 under Muslim customs could not be accepted for the purpose of granting family pension. Learned counsel relied upon the Office Memorandum dated 19.07.2017, issued by the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare, and contended that the applicant's case did not fall within the conditions specified therein or under Rule 54 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972.

I have considered the submissions made by Mr. Ram Krishna Koli, learned counsel for the applicant, and Mr. Manoj Kumar Sharma, learned counsel for the respondents, and have carefully examined the pleadings, documents and other material available on record.

The admitted facts are that the applicant's father, Shri Istiyak Ali, retired from service on 31.01.2002 and died on 06.04.2006. Thereafter, family pension was sanctioned in favour of his wife, Smt. Hamsiran, who died on 11.04.2010. The applicant claims entitlement to family pension on the ground that her marriage had already been dissolved on 07.01.2007 under Muslim customs and that she was dependent on her parents. However, the record shows that she instituted divorce proceedings before the Family Court, Ghaziabad, on 02.04.2013, and an ex parte decree of divorce was passed on 20.07.2015. The divorce certificate issued by the Shahi Imam, Shahi Masjid Fatehpuri, Chandni Chowk, Delhi, is dated 10.09.2017 and mentions 07.01.2007 as the date of divorce. Thus, both the decree of divorce and the said certificate were issued after the death of the applicant's parents. The question is whether, in these circumstances, the applicant fulfils the conditions prescribed for grant of family pension under the applicable rules and instructions.

The record does not indicate that the mother of the applicant had submitted any application to the respondent department during the period from 2007 to 2010 regarding the applicant’s claim for family pension on the basis of her alleged divorce. Moreover, the applicant herself did not submit any application for family pension after the death of her mother on 11.04.2010. Her claim appears to have been considered by the department for the first time in the year 2016, after the divorce decree was passed on 20.07.2015. The subsequent divorce certificate dated 10.09.2017 also records the alleged date of divorce as 07.01.2007. The relevant instructions governing such claims are contained in the Office Memorandum dated 19.07.2017 issued by the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare. Paragraph 6 thereof is reproduced below:-

A perusal of the aforesaid Office Memorandum dated 19.07.2017 shows that family pension may be granted to a divorced daughter where divorce proceedings were instituted before a competent court during the lifetime of the employee/pensioner or his/her spouse, but the divorce took place after their death, subject to fulfilment of the other conditions prescribed under Rule 54 of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972. In the present case, the applicant claims that her divorce had taken place on 07.01.2007 under Muslim customs. However, the proceedings before the Family Court, Ghaziabad, were instituted on 02.04.2013, after the death of both her parents, and the decree of divorce was passed on 20.07.2015. The divorce certificate issued by the Shahi Imam on 10.09.2017 also records the alleged date of divorce as 07.01.2007. In view of these facts and the conditions stipulated in the aforesaid Office Memorandum, the applicant’s claim does not fall within the category of cases covered by the said clarification. Accordingly, I find no sufficient ground to interfere with the impugned orders. The Original Application is, therefore, dismissed. There shall be no order as to costs.

All pending Miscellaneous Applications, if any, stand disposed of.