ARATI RANI BOSE DEB vs N.F.RAILWAY

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CENTRAL ADMINISTRATIVE TRIBUNAL
GUWAHATI BENCH
[Reserved]

Original Application No. 40/113/2024


Reserved on: 18.08.2026


Pronounced on: 22.09.2026

Coram:-

HON’BLE MR. RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA, JUDICAL MEMBER
HON’BLE MS. MALLIKA ARYA, ADMINISTRATIVE MEMBER


Between

SMTI ARATI RANI BOSE (DEВ),
Wife of Late Bijoy Kumar Deb
Daughter of Late Sarat Ch. Bose
Resident of Vill- Jumabasti,
P.O. & P.S.- Badarpur, Dist- Karimganj,
Assam PIN – 781012.

......Applicant


[By Advocate: Mr. D.P. Borah, Mr. Uttam Ghosh]


-AND-

1. Union of India,
Represented by the Principal Secretary,
Ministry of Railway cum the Chairman,
Railway Board, New Delhi – 1.

2. General Manager,
N.F. Railway, Maligaon,
Guwahati – 781011.

3. Divisional Railway Manager(P),
N.F. Railway, Lumding.
4. Senior Divisional Finance Manager,
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N.F. Railway, Lumding.

5. The FA & Chief Account Officer/Pension,
N.F. Railway, Maligaon, Guwahati- 781011.

6. The Chief Personal Officer,
N.F. Railway, Maligaon, Guwahati-11.

7. Sri Subal Bose
Son of- Sarat Ch. Bose
Resident of Vill- Jumabasti,
P.O. & P.S.- Badarpur, Dist- Karimganj,
Assam, PIN – 781012,
Presently residing at Salbagan,
Sastri Road Ward No:- 9,
Near Iscon Mandir,
Bongaigaon, District - Bongaingaon
Assam, Pin- 783380.

....Respondents

[By Advocate: Mr. P. Saikia, Addl. CGSC, Mr. D.K. Rajak
for R.No. 7 ]
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ORDER
PER R.S. DOGRA, MEMBER (J):

The instant OA has been filed by the applicant praying for
the following relief(s):-
8.1 Set aside and quash the impugned letter dated 27.4.2023
contained under No. LMG/PEN/MECH/02 (Annexure -9) issued
by the Respondent No. 4;
8.2 Direct the Respondent authorities to pay the family pension
of the Applicant immediately including the arrear amount of
pension;
8.3 Any other relief (s) that may be deemed fit and proper by this
Hon'ble Tribunal;

2. The facts of the case are that the applicant’s father- Late
Sarat Chandra Bose was an employee under Indian Railways.
He was appointed as Ex. Logoshit Fitter/Locoshed/Badarpur
on 05.05.1945 in the Indian Railways and after completion of
his service, he retired on 01.06.1974. The father of the
Petitioner was receiving family pension from the Department
till his death on 29.10.1979. The Applicant's husband namely,
Late Bijoy Kumar Deb was a Day Laborer and he died on
08.05.1990 which was duly certified by the Chairman of
Badarpur Town Committee. Since after the death of her
husband, the Applicant had no source of income to support
herself and her 6 children due to financial hardship and not
having any income source, the Applicant's situation become
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worse. After few months from the death of her husband, the
Applicant moved to her Parental house as she was not having
any earning source or any other alternative way for livelihood.
In this regard, the Chairman of Badarpur Town Committee has
issued a widow certificate bearing certificate No.
BTC/C1/2014-15/. on 15.10.2015 in the name of the
Applicant. In the meantime, Mother of the Petitioner namely,
Late Labonya Prova Bose, Wife of Late Sarat Ch. Bose applied
for the family pension and she was receiving family pension till
her death on 12.11.2012. After passing of a few days, brothers
and sisters of the Applicant who all are well settled, advised her
to apply for their father's Pension as she is a widow dependent
daughter of Late Labonya Prava Bose, Wife of Late Sarat
Chandra Bose, and as per Un-Married/Widow/Divorce
Daughter/Minor Pension, the Applicant being the widow
dependent Daughter of an ex-Railway employee has the right
to get pension from the department. After considering the
application as well as the documents submitted by the
Applicant, her name was duly accepted by the department.
Accordingly, a letter dated 20.01.2016 was issued to her from
the office of the DRM(P)/LMG bearing letter No. E-Fs-Mech
inter-alia asking her to submit the original P.P.O. & Last Pay
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Certificate of the Bank from where her parents had drawn their
last pension. Thereafter, the Office of the Respondent No. 4 i.e.
Senior Divisional Finance Manager, N.F. Railway, Lumding
issued a letter on 14.7.2016 to the Chief Manager, United bank
of India, Guwahati Hem Baruah Road, Opp. Sheikh Brothers,
Gauhati-781001, Assam bearing PPO No. Lmg/Pen/NFR/446,
Case No. Mech/02 by inter alia granting disbursement of
Widow/Un-married/Divorce Daughter/Minor Pension through
Public sector bank in the name of the Applicant as per Pension
Payment Order and the dearness Relief was also granted to the
Applicant. Applicant was thereafter regularly receiving the
pension. However, after receiving Pension for a period of 6 (Six)
years and 9(Nine) months, the Applicant suddenly received a
letter from the Sr. Divisional Finance Manager N.F. Railway,
Lumding, Assam vide letter dated 27.4.2023 bearing No.
LMG/PEN/MECH/02 by which the family pension of the
Applicant has been stopped with immediate effect. In response
to the same, applicant submitted an application dated
29.05.2023 followed by another application dated 20.11.2023
by registered post to the Sr. Divisional Finance Manager,
Lumding, N.F. Railway inter-alia praying for restoration of her
family pension; however the Respondent authorities have not
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responded to her applications till date. However, when the
applicant visited the office of the Respondent authorities, she
came to know from some reliable sources that her younger
brother namely, Sri Subal Bose(Respondent No. 7 herein) has
submitted an application to the Department inter-alia claiming
the family pension in his name by showing himself to be more
than 80% physically handicapped person. The Applicant has
come to know that the said Sri Subal Bose has submitted
before the Respondent authorities a forged NOC in the name of
the Applicant along with his application.
As per the applicant, her brother never asked for any
‘NOC’ from the Applicant neither the Applicant has given any
‘NOC’ in this regard. Hence, this OA.

3. Learned counsel for the Respondents has filed his written
statement, wherein he averred that the Applicant Smti. Arati
Rani Bose (Deb) is a widow daughter of Lt. Sarat Ch. Bose and
Late Labonya Prova Bose. On verification, the authority found
her eligible for Category-II Family Pension and accordingly,
Family pension was sanctioned in favour of the applicant vide
PPO No. LMG/Pen/NFR/446 dated 14.07.2016 (Annexure-9 in
the O.A.). The authority verified the entire documents as well
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as declaration submitted by the applicant to that effect that the
applicant is a widow daughter of the deceased Govt. employee
and on the basis of such information, the applicant is found
eligible for Category-II Family Pension and accordingly, family
pension was sanctioned on 14.07.2016. Later on, several
applications were received from Mr. Subal Ch. Bose,
(handicapped), son of Lt. Sarat Ch. Bose, who applied for his
family pension of his deceased father under the category of
Physical Handicapped scheme, which is eligible as per the
provision of Office Memorandum RBE No. 116/2007 dated
18.09.2007 issued by the Ministry of Railway. Mr. Subal Ch.
Bose submitted applications dated 09.12.2021 and 26.08.2022
claiming Category-II Family Pension producing a physical
handicapped certificate No. APD/SDH/Handicapped/11748
dated 04.11.2008 issued by the Office of the Superintendent
S.D. Hospital, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, Government of West
Bengal whereby the Committee of Doctors declared him 50%
physical handicapped. Further, it is also alleged that at the
time of submitting application by the applicant, she did not
mention the name of Subal Ch. Bose as physically handicapped
person and the applicant was receiving pension of his deceased
father by suppressing his details. Moreover, the applicant hid
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the handicapped status of Mr. Subal Ch. Bose in her
application and documents submitted during processing of her
claim. Based on the said facts, family pension of Smt. Arati
Rani Bose (Deb), widow daughter of Lt. Sarat Ch. Bose was
stopped vide Sr. DFM/LMG's E/FS/LMG/Mech/Pen dated
04.04.2023 (Annexure-9 in the O.A.) for misleading the Railway
authorities by producing fake Next of Kin certificate as well as
non-disclosure of the handicapped status of Mr. Subal Ch.
Bose.

4. Learned counsel for the Respondent No. 7 has also filed
th
Reply, wherein he averred that Respondent No. 7 is the 5 son
of Late Sarat Chandra Bose (father) and Late Labannya Prabha
Bose (mother). He is a physically handicapped person having
50% disability. After death of the husband of Arati Rani Bose
(Deb) on 08.05.1990 (Bijoy Kumar Deb), she obtained a Next of
Kin Certificate (NOK) from the Office of the Deputy
Commissioner, Karimganj District vide Certificate No-
KDCA.68/2015/Pt-II/215, dated 08.10.2015 (Annexure 6 of
the applicant) by leaving a next of kin namely- Sandhya Bose
Deb and claimed for the family pension in the N.F. Railway
office on the ground that she is the widow daughter of
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Labannya Prabha Bose and accordingly, the N.F. Railway
authority granted family pension in the name of Arati Rani
Bose (Deb), which has been subsequently stopped by the
railway authority after making enquiry on receipt of objection
from the Respondent No. 7. Even her late mother-Labannya
Prabha Bose (mother) also made a representation on
14.03.2010 to the Divisional Railway Manager (P), LMG
Division, N.F. Railway, Lumding to give the family pension to
Sri Subal Bose on the ground of being physically handicapped.
Pursuant to the same, after the death of Labannya Prabha
Bose, Sri Subal Bose (respondent no-7) applied for the family
pension, but the same has been ignored by the railway
authority and the same has been given to the applicant.

5. Learned counsel for the Applicant has filed rejoinder in
response to reply filed on behalf of Respondent Nos. 1 to 5,
wherein he has averred that the claim of the brother of the
Applicant being more than 50% handicapped appears to be
exaggerated and potentially false. He was not born with a
disability; instead, his left ankle was affected by an infection
following a bout of typhoid in his teenage years. Despite this,
he acquired a disability certificate from the Office of the
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Superintendent S.D. Hospital, Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri,
Government of West Bengal in West Bengal, although he
resided in Karimganj, Assam. Secondly, as per Section 17 (a) of
The Rights of Persons Disabilities 2017,– “Any person with
specified disability may apply in Form IV for a certificate of
disability and submit the application to a medical authority or
any other notified competent authority to issue such a
certificate in the district of residence of the applicant as
mentioned in the proof of residence in the application".
However, in the present case, Respondent No. 7 has submitted
a handicapped certificate that was not issued by the competent
authority within the jurisdiction of the place of residence of the
Respondent No. 7. Instead, the certificate in question, was
issued by the Office of the Superintendent, S.D. Hospital,
Alipurduar, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, which raises serious
doubts regarding its validity. This discrepancy is of significant
concern, as the certificate does not appear to comply with the
provisions set forth in the aforementioned Section 17(a), which
mandates that the certificate be issued by the competent
authority in the district of the applicant's residence. The
issuance of the certificate from a jurisdiction that does not
correspond with the place of residence of the Respondent No. 7
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calls into question whether the proper procedures were
followed and whether the certificate is valid. Further, his
father's service records do not indicate any mention of his son's
disability because the Respondent No. 7 is not physically
handicapped by birth. The eligibility criteria concerning the
Family Pension Scheme, which mandates that benefits are to
be paid solely to a dependent daughter and a handicapped
child. In the present case, the applicant applied for the
issuance of a Next of Kin certificate with the help of her
brothers while she was residing at her parental house.
Subsequently, a Next of Kin certificate was duly issued to her
on 12.07.2015. However, it has come to light that the
applicant's sister, Smt. Sandhya Bose Deb, elder widow
daughter of Late Sarat Ch. Bose was inadvertently not included
in the certificate. The omission of Smt. Sandhya Bose Deb's
name was unintentional and occurred because, at the time of
application, she was not considered a dependent daughter of
deceased mother and also she was not residing along with her
father. Smt. Sandhya Bose Deb was residing at the house of
her husband along with her children, establishing her
independent household in Guwahati, and thus was not under
the deceased mother care or financial responsibility. The
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exclusion of Smt. Sandhya Bose Deb was therefore based on a
bona fide understanding and intention by the applicant, with
no fraudulent or misleading intent. Moreover, Sri Sandhya
Bose Deb has never claimed or prayed for the pensionary
benefits. Furthermore, it is noted that it was the duty of the
concerned department to duly verify the applicant's
information with the service book of applicant's father,
including all potential next of kin, prior to sanctioning of
Category II Family Pension on 14.07.2016. Proper verification
would have addressed this omission and ensured that all
eligible family members were included. The applicant has
neither produced any falsified documentation nor concealed
any material facts, including the non-disclosure of any
handicapped status for Mr. Subal Ch. Bose, who was not, at
any time, handicapped from birth. The applicant submitted her
application in full compliance with all eligibility requirements
under the Office Memorandum RBE No. 116/2007 dated
18.09.2007 issued by Ministry of Railway.

6. Learned counsel for the applicant has also filed rejoinder
against Written statement filed by Respondent No. 7, wherein
he avers that mother of the applicant, Late Smt. Labannya
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Prabha Bose (mother) had never made any representation to
the Divisional Railway Manager (P), LMG Division, N.F.
Railway, Lumding, for grant of family pension in favour of Sri
Subal Ch. Bose (Respondent No. 7) on the ground of physical
disability. It is further submitted that the alleged
representation annexed as Annexure-B to the Written
Statement and relied upon by Respondent No. 7 was never
voluntarily executed by Late Smt. Labannya Prabha Bose and
has been obtained by illegal, fraudulent, and coercive means.
The deponent states that she came to know directly from her
mother that Respondent No. 7 had forcibly taken her thumb
impression on a blank sheet of paper on the false pretext of
some official requirement, without disclosing the purpose or
contents thereof. Therefore, the said document is fabricated,
manipulated, and void ab initio, and cannot be treated as a
valid or lawful representation made by Late Smt. Labannya
Prabha Bose. The Respondent No. 7 has deliberately relied
upon such a tainted and unlawfully procured document to
mislead this Tribunal, and the same deserves outright
rejection. It is an admitted position that Respondent No. 7
obtained multiple disability certificates from different
authorities at different points of time, showing varying
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percentages of disability. While one disability certificate
allegedly issued in the year 2008 from Alipurduar, West Bengal
shows his disability as 50%, another disability certificate
obtained by him in the year 2013 from Bongaigaon records his
disability as 60%. The existence of two certificates showing
different percentages of disability for the same individual,
without any medical re-assessment or lawful explanation,
clearly establishes material contradiction and casts serious
doubt on the genuineness and authenticity of the documents
relied upon by Respondent No. 7. The intentional non-
disclosure of the later certificate, which shows a higher
percentage of disability, raises a serious presumption of
selective disclosure and manipulation of records, solely to suit
his convenience and claim. That such suppression of a material
document amounts to misrepresentation and fraud, and
disentitles Respondent No. 7 from claiming any equitable relief.
The Applicant/Deponent, on the other hand, had already
submitted her application for grant of family pension in the
year 2016, pursuant to which the competent authority duly
examined the records and sanctioned family pension in her
favour. The settled position having been acted upon, the
belated and contradictory claims of Respondent No. 7, based
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on doubtful and inconsistent disability certificates, are legally
untenable and liable to be rejected outright. Hence, the claim
of Respondent No. 7 deserves no consideration, and the family
pension rightly granted to the Applicant cannot be disturbed
on the basis of such unreliable and contradictory documents.
7. We have heard the parties and perused the materials on
record.
8. It is noted that the physically handicapped person has
the right of get family pension of his/her deceased parent as
acme priority than other eligible child as per the provision of
Office Memorandum RBE No. 116/2007 dated 18.09.2007
issued by the Ministry of Railways. The Scheme stated that
widowed/divorced daughters of a Govt. deceased employee
above the age of 25 years shall be payable only after the other
eligible children below the age of 25 years have ceased to be
eligible to receive family pension and that there are no disabled
child to receive the family pension. As the scheme has clearly
arranged the entitlement of a physically handicapped child in
the top of the scheme to the widow daughter, the Respondent
No. 7 is eligible to get the family pension who is having 50%
disability. Further upon enquiry by the respondent authorities
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during processing of her claim of family pension, it has come
to light that the applicant did not disclose the existence of Smt.
Sandhya Bose Deb, elder widow daughter of Lt. Sarat Ch. Bose
in the Next of Kin Certificate dated 08.10.2015. As per the
Office Memorandum RBE No. 116/2007 dated 18.09.2007
issued by the Ministry of Railway – “Family pension to
unmarried/widowed/divorced daughters above the age of 25
years shall be payable only after the other eligible children
below the age of 25 years have ceased to be eligible to receive
family pension and that there are no disabled child to receive the
family pension.”
Thus, the Respondent No. 7 having 50% disability is
entitled to get the family pension over the widowed daughter in
the light of the light of the O.M. dated 18.09.2007. Even
applicant’s mother had also made a Representation to the
authorities on 14.03.2010 for grant of family pension to her
disabled son i.e. Respondent No. 7 being physically
handicapped. As such, we do not find any reasons to interfere
with the decision of the respondents.
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9. For the foregoing reasons and discussions, the instant
OA stands dismissed being devoid of merit. Pending M.A.(s), if
any, stand disposed of.

10. Interim order, if any, stands vacated. No costs.



(MALLIKA ARYA) (RAJINDER SINGH DOGRA)
MEMBER (A) MEMBER (J)

/SK/
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SOURABH KUMAR
KUMAR