YELLAMMA Vs. THE KARNATAKA ELECTRICITY BOARD

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Petitioner who is the widow of one later Sri Ramappa has preferred this writ petition claiming grant of family pension from the Respondent -Karnataka Electricity Board (the 'Board' for short).

(2.) THE brief facts leading to the filing of the writ petition are as follows: Late Ramappa was an employee of the Respondent -Board and he died on 28.3.1962 of cancer while still in service. He had at the time of his death put in more than 1 year of service in the Board. The State Government had passed an order bearing No. FD:SPL:52:PET:75, dated 1st April, 1975 according sanction for the payment of family pension to the families of Government Servants who died while in service after 31.10.1956 and before 2.9.1968. The Board also had adopted the terms of the above Government Order under the Board Order No. KEB:A1:75:75 -76, dated 15.5.1975. As Ramappa died on 28.3.1962 the Petitioner submitted an application to the Board on 15 -12 -1994 explaining the reason for the delay in approaching the Board for pension. The reason given by the Petitioner was that she came to know of the said order only in the year 1994 and immediately thereafter she submitted the application for pension. It is the case of the Petitioner that she had submitted all the relevant documents that were in her possession to enable the Board to grant her the pension. Her application was forwarded to the Chief Controller of Finance who had rejected her claim for family pension on the ground that the family of a deceased employee would not be entitled for pension unless the employee had put in 20 years of service in the Board. This was conveyed to her by the Executive Engineer of the Board. Aggrieved by the rejection of her prayer for pension, the Petitioner has filed this writ petition.

(3.) THE Petitioner has produced at Annexure -A the copy of Government order dated 1st April, 1975 sanctioning family pension to certain categories of pensioners to whom the benefit was not available hitherto. An amendment was made to Rule 294 -B of the Karnataka Civil Services Rules to bring certain class of Government Servants under the fold of persons whose families would be entitled for family pension. The deceased husband of the Petitioner is covered by Clause (ii) of the said Government Order which reads: ORDER Sanction is accorded to the Extension, with effect from 1.4.1975 of the benefit of Family Pension under Rule 294 -B of the Karnataka Civil Services Rules to the families of the following Categories of Government Servants and pensions including those who have received or are receiving Family Pension under Rule 294 -A of the Karnataka Civil Services Rules: (i) ... (ii) Government Servants who - (a) Retired after 31.10.1956 and before 2.9.1964; and (b) Died after 31.10.1956 and before 2.9.1968 The deceased Ramappa having died on 28.3.1962 which falls between the two relevant dates i.e. 31.10.1956 and 2.9.1964, the family of the deceased Ramappa would be entitled for family pension. That the Petitioner is entitled to family pension in terms of the above Government Order is beyond dispute. The only objection taken by the Respondents in this regard is that the Petitioner having remained quiet for nearly 20 years the writ petition filed in the year 1999 suffers from laches and delay and, therefore, is liable to be dismissed. This objection is bereft of merit as Section 9 of the said Government Order makes it abundantly clear that there is no time limit for preferring such applications. The relevant Section 9 is extracted herein below: According to conditions (a) in Rule 294 -B(i) of the Karnataka Civil Services Rules the application for the benefit of family pension under the rule had to be preferred to the Accountant General on or before 31.12.1974. In all these cases the time limit is hereby extended beyond 31.12.1974 and there will be no time limit for preferring such application. Hence, the solitary ground urged by the Respondent for rejecting the prayer in the writ petition is bereft of any merit and is liable to be brushed aside.