KHARAK SINGH KANG Vs. STATE OF PUNJAB

JUDGEMENT

(1.) IN this petition filed under Articles 226 and 227 of the Constitution, petitioners Kharak Singh Kang and his wife Smt Devinder Kaur have approached this Court for the issuance of a writ of mandamus directing the State of Punjab to grant to them family pension being parents of late Daljit Singh, formerly Senior Clerk in the office of the Inspector General of Police, Punjab, who died on 5th November, 1985, while in service. Both the petitioners are about 70 years of age and were solely dependants upon their son Daljit Singh as both of them were unemployed and not earning anything.

(2.) DALJIT Singh joined service as Clerk in 1973 and after putting in about 12 years' service died in 1985. At the time of his death, Daljit Singh was still unmarried. After the death of Daljit Singh, the petitioners applied for the grant of family pension as under the Mew Pension Rules, 1951, the petitioners being parents of their unmarried deaceased son were entitled to the same. Under these rules, the definition of "family" included "father and mother" if they were dependant upon the deceased for support. However, after waking for a considerably long period, when pension was not released to the petitioners, the present with petition was riled.

(3.) IN reply to the writ petition, written statement has been filed in which it has been pleaded that the Family Pension Scheme provided under the New Pension Rules, 1951, was not applicable to the case of the petitioners because the deceased had joined service on 21st June, 1973, that is, after the enforcement of another Family Pension Scheme, of 1964 and under the latter Pension Scheme the parents (father and mother) of the deceased did not fall under the definition of "family" for the grant of family pension in the case of death of their son.