SARITA RAINA Vs. UNION OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE instant petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India read with Section 103 of the Constitution of Jammu and Kashmir is directed against judgment and order dated 18.05.2009 rendered by the Central Administrative Tribunal, Chandigarh Bench, Circuit at Jammu, ( for brevity the Tribunal), whereby the claim of the writ petitioner for grant of family pension to her has been rejected on the ground that she has already secured divorce and had also remarried. The short order of the Tribunal is set out below for a ready reference:-

(2.) THE case of the petitioner is that she has neither divorced her husband Shri B. L. Raina nor any question of re-marriage has ever arisen. In that regard learned counsel for the petitioner has argued that even before the Tribunal there was no document on record to reach any such conclusion. Our attention has been drawn to the letter dated 29.08.2012 issued by the Section Officer (Judicial) on the application sent by the petitioner. According to the aforesaid communication the file consisted of 18 pages as per the index supplied by the petitioner/her counsel and in addition there were three pages of the order of the Bench. The crucial words are that "Except the finding of the Hon 'ble bench ( "The documents produced discloses that there was a situation where, well before the death of the Government servant, after securing a divorce, the applicant had remarried ") in the O. A which was disposed of in limine, there is no document available in the file which supports the extracted findings. It is not for the registry to look for documentation relatable to any finding given by the Hon 'ble Bench. You may also like to either yourself or through your counsel inspect the file on any working day ".

(3.) AS a sequel to the above discussion we set aside the order of the Tribunal and remand the matter back to it. The Tribunal shall decide the issue at the earliest by keeping in view the fact that a hapless widow is hankering for pension for the last so many years. The Tribunal shall fix a date of hearing at Jammu and intimate the same to the parties and their counsel.