PRAVABATI DEVI Vs. STATE OF ASSAM

JUDGEMENT

(1.) This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner aggrieved by the speaking order No. HMA.575/2012/77 dtd. 17/11/2015 whereby the family pension was held to be not payable to the petitioner who was the widow of missing Constable 580 Triloki Nath Singh of Cachar DEF as per Rule in view of the opinion of the Pension and Public Grievances Department that family pension to the wife of the missing constable cannot be granted since the case is neither covered under Govt. O.M. No. PPG(P)75/91/242 dtd. 29/3/2000 nor does it fall under Rule 143 of Assam Service (Pension) Rules, 1969. The further prayer of the petitioner is for setting aside the order being D.O. No. 3283 dtd. 25/6/1971, by which order, it was stated that the husband of the petitioner was discharged from service but a copy thereof was never served upon the petitioner. The facts pleaded in the writ petition are that the husband of the petitioner, Triloki Nath Singh, was duly appointed as Constable in Unarmed Branch (UB) against the existing vacant post where he joined on 31/3/1965 in Assam Police and he had undergone basic training at Dergaon. After successful completion of the training, he was posted in different units in the Cachar district. The husband of the petitioner discharged his duties as Constable under administrative jurisdiction of Superintendent of Police, Cachar, Silchar without any blemish throughout his service career. It is stated that the husband of the petitioner while in service at Karimganj police station in undivided Cachar district was missing from 30/12/1969 and his whereabouts were not traced out till date inspite of all efforts from the family as well as by the authority concerned. At that time, the petitioner was at her matrimonial home at Ailakhimillia(via- Ratanpura), District-Mau, Uttar Pradesh although her male child who was aged about only 4 months then. The information regarding her husband missing came to the knowledge of the petitioner vide letter No. R/8646 dtd. 23/4/1970 issued by the Superintendent of Police, Cachar, Silchar directing her husband to resume in his duties. But the said letter could not served to the addressee since he had remained untraced and as such it was sent to his permanent address at Mau in U.P., which was the matrimonial home of the petitioner.

(2.) As the petitioner did not receive any service benefit of her husband as his whereabouts could not be traced out, the petitioner submitted several representations before the respondents authorities praying for release of the service benefits in respect of her missing husband. Since these representations did not evoke any response, the son of the petitioner who by that time had attained majority approached the respondent authorities to enquire about the status of the case of his father who was missing since 30/12/1969. As no satisfactory replies were forthcoming from the respondents, a legal notice was served on the respondents by a counsel demanding release of service benefit of her husband. Pursuant to the said legal Notice, the Inspector General of Police vide WT Massage under Memo No. E/II-17.660/10-A dtd. 17/4/2001 directed the Superintendent of Police, Silchar/ Karimganj to submit detailed report regarding the status of the missing husband of the petitioner with a request to send the pension proposal for grant of provisional pension/Death-cum-Retirement Gratuity (DCRG) etc. In pursuance to such directions issued by the Inspector General of Police, the Superintendent of Police, Cachar, Silchar directed the son of the petitioner to appear before him with all relevant papers and service records of his father to facilitate preparation of pension papers. Accordingly, the son of the petitioner appeared before the Office of the Superintendent of Police, Cachar, Silchar and submitted all relevant papers.

(3.) The Superintendent of Police, Cachar, Silchar vide memo No. SLC/R/13/2005/8765 dtd. 22/12/2005 intimated the District Magistrate, Cachar, Silchar that the husband of the petitioner was found missing since 31/12/1969 and also forwarded a report submitted by the Superintendent of Police of Mau District, Uttar Pradesh along with a report of the Pradhan Gaon Panchayat Ailak in the State of U.P., requesting for issuance of a certificate presuming the husband of the petitioner to be dead as without such certificate to pensionary benefit payable to the petitioner could not be processed. It was mentioned that since seven (7) years had already elapsed, a certificate to that effect of the presumption of the death of the husband of the petitioner was necessary. The missing report collected from the Officer In-charge, Haldarpur, Janpith Muktha, District Mau, Uttar Pradesh had also been forwarded to the District Magistrate, Cachar.