STATE OF TAMIL NADU Vs. VASUKI

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This intra court appeal is directed against the order dated 18.07.2018 allowing W.P. (MD) No. 12329 of 2018 filed by the respondent herein.

(2.) The case of the respondent is that she married one Kumar on 01.06.2003. It was an inter-caste love marriage. The respondent's husband was working as a coolie in a motor company. Two children were born through the marriage. While so on 01.03.2014, when the husband of the respondent was taking bath in a water channel at Maayanoor, in Karur District, there was a sudden overflow of water caused by opening of the shutters of the dam. Kumar was washed away and made his watery grave. In this regard, Crime No. 56 of 2014 was registered under Section 174 of Cr.P.C. on the file of the Maayanoor police station.

(3.) The respondent applied for solatium under the Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund. The petitioner enclosed all the relevant documents. The local Thasildar forwarded the respondent's application dated 11.01.2016 with a recommendatory note. But then, the request was rejected by the District Collector, Karur, vide communication dated 31.08.2017. The stand of the Government was that to be eligible to receive solatium from the Chief Minister's Public Relief Fund, the annual income of the applicant's family should not exceed Rs. 24,000/-. In the case on hand, the annual income of the respondent's family was Rs. 36,000/- and that rendered the respondent ineligible to receive relief. The respondent was informed of this vide communication dated 28.09.2017. This was put to challenge by the respondent in W.P. (MD) No. 12329 of 2018. The Writ petition came to be allowed by the learned Single Judge in the following terms: