Allow Cookies!
By using our website, you agree to the use of cookies
The High Court of Punjab and Haryana have observed that a woman who performs the ‘Kareva’ marriage after the death of her husband, is not entitled to receiving ‘widow pension’ as she is no longer destitute.
Justice Lila Gill observed that the pension scheme was started for taking care of the women who are rendered destitute with no source of income due to the death of her husband.
This decision came in the petition made by Suman, seeking the quashing of the notices issued to her, asking her to deposit the sum of Rs. 1,82,727, released to her under the ‘Haryana Pension to Widow and Destitute Woman Rules, 1988-1989’ on the grounds that she remarried by performing ‘Kareva’ marriage with her brother-in-law.
The court stayed the recovery notices issued but clarified that the petitioner will further not receive any amount under the widow pension scheme.
The court noted that the petitioner has written a letter to the authorities informing them about her ‘Kareva’ marriage with her brother-in-law after three years of her husband’s death and clearly wanted to stop receiving the pension.
The court restrained the government to recover the pension amount that has been released after her remarriage with her brother-in-law. Also, the court said that the failure at the authority’s end to investigate if the petitioner was wrongfully in receipt of the pension did not amount to the adverse action against her.
Finally, the court held that “the [Haryana pension to widow and destitute women scheme] Rules provide for verification of the pensioners. It is provided that the Committee for Scrutiny may also investigate if any of the pensioners is no longer eligible for a pension. The said exercise was clearly not undertaken. The petitioner herself has submitted the application, Annexure R1, revealing her Kareva marriage and seeking the stoppage thereof. In the given circumstances, it is held that though the petitioner is not entitled to grant of pension under the aforesaid scheme, the respondents are not entitled to recover the amount already released to her”
86540
103860
630
114
59824