JASVIR KAUR Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The matter has been taken up through video-conferencing on account of lockdown due to outbreak of pandemic COVID-19. CM 10919 of 2021

(2.) Since the application is filed in compliance of order dtd. 4/8/2021, the same stands allowed. Documents Annexures A-1 and A-2 are taken on record. Office to tag the same as per Rules. CWP 35974 of 2019The present petition by way of writ in the nature of certiorari seeks quashment of the orders passed by the respondents in its letter dtd. 8/11/2019 (Annexure P-6) whereby the claim of the petitioner for family pension was stopped and they were asked to refund the amount so received. It is not displaced that the petitioner Jasvir Kaur @ Jasbir Kaur was earlier married to Joginder Singh son of late Piyara Singh out of which the petitioners No. 2 to 4 were born and as on date they are major. The husband of petitioner No. 1 and father of other petitioners was working with the Central Industrial Security Force, New Delhi, (in short 'the CISF') and died on 6/12/1998. Respondents granted family pension vide pension payment order No. PAO/CISF/Pension/PAR/1058/98/26-28 dtd. 5/4/1999 (Annexure P-4). As a consequence of this, petitioner No. 1 has been receiving the family pension on behalf of other children as well. It is during the course of events on 11/4/2000 petitioner No. 1, the widow of the deceased married his younger brother Naginder Pal Singh who was serving as a head constable in the CISF and who unfortunately passed away on 20/6/2019. It was by virtue of this status petitioner No. 1started receiving family pension being widow of deceased Naginder Pal Singh. It is consequent upon the issuance of the impugned letter dtd. 8/11/2019 (Annexure P-6), the petitioners have come up before this Court.

(3.) The consistent stand of the respondents is that the details of the petitioner No. 1 and the family given in Form No. 14 of deceased Joginder Singh and in Form No. 3 of deceased Naginder Pal Singh do not tally and claimed that petitioner No. 1 had in fact married Naginder Pal Singh much prior to the actual death of late Joginder Singh. It is further contended that earlier petitioner No. 1 had submitted non-remarriage certificate during the November 2018 and, therefore, claim of being widow of deceased Naginder Pal Singh does not crystallizes. The respondents have sought to rely on the query of claim that Jasvir Kaur @ Jasbir Kaur had been receiving family pension for herself and the children under suppression of facts and, therefore, were entitled to refund the amount which they have received wrongly as family pension and sought dismissal of the petition.