Widowed Daughter’s Family Pension Claim Fails As Tribunal Upholds Rejection For Lack Of Proof She Depended On Father While He Lived

The applicant, a 48-year-old widowed daughter of Late Shyam Lal, a retired employee of the 508 Army Base Workshop, sought family pension after her father died on 11 January 2021. Her husband had died on 1 December 2020.

The respondents rejected her claim by order dated 22 July 2024, stating that she had not established dependency on her father during his lifetime; they also relied on the absence of her relevant particulars in his service records and the fact that she and her father had separate addresses. The applicant challenged the rejection before the Tribunal, relying, among other things, on a family membership certificate.

The Tribunal applied the relevant provisions of the CCS (Pension) Rules, 1972, as amended by the Gazette notification dated 20 December 2021.

It recorded that an unmarried, widowed or divorced daughter claiming family pension beyond the prescribed age must satisfy the applicable eligibility conditions, including having been dependent on her parent or parents during their lifetime.

The Tribunal found that the family membership certificate and other material did not satisfactorily establish the applicant’s dependency on her father while he was alive.

It considered the respondents’ evidence concerning the parties’ separate addresses and the absence of the applicant’s relevant particulars from the service records, and found that the applicant had not produced sufficient cogent evidence to rebut those matters. Proof of her relationship to the deceased pensioner and her status as a widowed daughter, without proof of dependency, was insufficient to meet the eligibility condition.

It dismissed the Original Application, made no order as to costs, and disposed of all associated miscellaneous applications.