Now Reading: SC orders pension for Shaurya Chakra widow after 26-year fight
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SC orders pension for Shaurya Chakra widow after 26-year fight
The Supreme Court has ordered the central government to pay arrears and pension to the widow of Shaurya Chakra awardee Mohan Singh, who died in a road construction accident in 2000. The…
The Story in Brief
The Supreme Court has ordered the central government to pay arrears and pension to the widow of Shaurya Chakra awardee Mohan Singh, who died in a road construction accident in 2000. The court said that the government should have automatically granted Special Family Pension under category 'C' of CCS (Pension) Rules instead of making her rely on the Workmen's Compensation Act.
The bench of Justices K V Viswanathan and Arun Palli criticised the delay, stating that a widow should not have to approach the court for such relief. The government had already paid Rs 14.28 lakh and processed some pension and arrears of Rs 4.12 lakh. The court ordered an additional Rs 10 lakh for the period between Singh's death and the High Court order.
The Indian Opinion
The government's instinct is to deny, delay and litigate even against the family of a Shaurya Chakra awardee. The Workmen's Compensation Act was used as a technical excuse to avoid paying the proper Special Family Pension under CCS Rules for 26 years. The Supreme Court rightly called this out: a widow should not have to go to court for what is clearly due. The test now is whether the Rs 10 lakh consolidated amount the court ordered for the gap period actually reaches her without another round of paperwork.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
