How many liabilities would be provided for daughters of divorced freedom fighters for pension: Supreme Court to the Center
Additional Solicitor General Madhavi Divan, appeared for the center, the family pension if at all permitted will be subject to financial obligations and will open the Pandora box.
Financial obligations to a divorced daughter of a freedom fighter
The Supreme Court has requested the center that, how many financial obligations to a divorced daughter of a freedom fighter get if given a family pension such as unmarried girls or widows.
Family pensions for girls who were unmarried daughters and widow daughters
judges U.U. Lalit and KM. Joseph questions after the center said that if all courts allowed family pensions for girls who were unmarried daughters and widow daughters, then it would cause financial obligations and open the Pandora box.
Minimum obligation
“What is the financial obligation? Daughters cases that divorce will be very minimal and thus the minimum obligation will be issued. Divorce child cases are difficult from any amount in the country”, the bench observed.
Contradictory opinions
The top court deals with the question, whether a divorced woman has the right to enjoy her freedom fighter father’s like an unmarried girl or widow because two different high courts have given contradictory opinions about this problem.
Provision of family pension of freedom fighter’s family
This problem was brought before the supreme court by Himachal Pradesh Resident Tulsi Devi (57), who had challenged the verdict of the high court last year dismissing her request for the provision of family pension of freedom fighter’s family for the reason that there were no provisions made in the rules. During the hearing, Advocate Dushyant Parashar, who appeared for MS Devi, said the daughter divorced daughter of a freedom fighter must be placed equally with a widowed daughter or unmarried.
Ministry of Defense (MOD)
He said that his client’s father had sacrificed his life for the country and he could not be permitted to live a life of punishment considering there was no source of income to defend and survive. Parashar said that circular the Ministry of Defense (MOD) on December 14, 2012, recorded the intention to extend its benefits with divorced girls equivalent to widow’s daughters or unmarried.
The additional solicitor general Madhavi Divan appeared for the center, he said the word family pension if at all permitted will be subject to financial obligations and will open the Pandora box.
Posting this problem on a Non-Miscellaneous day for final disposal
She is looking for time to submit several additional documents about this problem. The top court provides the freedom to both parties to submit additional documents and register this issue for the final disposal in April the second week before the appropriate bench. “Posting this problem on a Non-Miscellaneous day for final disposal in the second week of April 2021, before the court. Meanwhile, the parties are in Liberty to submit additional documents,” Bench said in the order recently.
Divorced woman had the right to enjoy the pension of the Freedom Fighter’s family pension
On May 28 last year, the supreme court had agreed to examine this problem after being shown that Punjab and Haryana High Court said that a divorced woman had the right to enjoy the pension of the Freedom Fighter’s family pension while the Himachal Pradesh High Court had ruled, “No. It’s not a gift”.
Ms. Devi said the HP High Court has carried out serious illegality by not considering that the applicant as a divorced daughter also depends on the retirement of the ‘Swatantra Sainik Samman’ given to her mother after her father’s death.
Freedom Fighter’s retirement scheme
She has argued that identical cases have advanced before Punjab and Haryana High Court, namely 2016 in the case of Khajani Devi have argued that Freedom Fighter’s retirement scheme also applies to divorced girls and she will be considered as dependents who qualify on par with the Unmarried or widow.
She argued that through his advocate that the Punjab High Court and Haryana in the case of the 2016 Retirement Scheme of ‘Swatantra Sainik Samman’ were intended to respect the courage of those who put their lives or suffer for of the country’s cause.
Socially progressive and constructive approach
She said that when the center challenged the orders of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the upper Court on September 27, 2019, refused to appeal and refused to intervene in the 2016 verdict.
She has submitted that the Supreme Court then agreed with the view of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, by saying that the 2016 verdict adopted a socially progressive and constructive approach by providing benefit for a girl who was divorced treating it in parity with unmarried princesses.
Swatantarta Sainik Samman Pension Scheme
The Court then asked for her counsel to propose a circular issued by MOD on December 14, 2012, which included a daughter who divorced in the category of dependents that qualified for the provision of family pensions that were liberalized / special above 25 years.
Under the feasibility criteria for the dependents for Swatantarta Sainik Samman Pension Scheme, 1980, the family included (if Freedom Fighter does not live), mother, father, widower/widow if he/she is not married anymore, unmarried girls.
Parent’s house depending on retirement received by her father
Tulsi Devi was married in 1980 but after five years of marriage he was returned from her home and her husband married another woman. Since then she has lived in her parent’s house depending on retirement received by her father, who is a fighter of freedom.
His father Gopal Ram died in 2007 and her mother began to receive family retirement.
Rejected by the Prime Minister’s office
On his death, his mother Kaushalya Devi wrote a letter to the Prime Minister’s office in January 2018, that after his death, the family retirement must be given to his daughter because she did not have her own income and no one took care of him.
The request was rejected by the Prime Minister’s office on September 5, 2018. A month later, her mother expired.
Saddened by a decision to deny family pension, Tulsi Devi approached the Himachal High Court for the provision of family pension, which rejected her request in 2019.
