Widows Entitled To Family Pension: High Court

SRINAGAR: A woman who had ongoing divorce litigation with her late husband has been granted the right to receive family pension by the Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh High Court. The court’s bench, led by Justice Rahul Bharti, stated that “earning family pension is a law given right” and can only be denied if the law allows it, which was not applicable in this case.

In 2017, the woman submitted a writ petition after her request for the release of family pension and other benefits was denied. Her husband, who had retired from the Border Security Force (BSF) as a Constable in 2015, passed away a year later. The woman subsequently applied to the Commanding Officer of the relevant Battalion in BSF for the release of the family pension to be granted to her. However, the Commanding officer stated that since the woman’s name was not found in the deceased’s pension records and due to the ongoing divorce proceedings, the case for the release of family pension to the widow could not be pursued.