Now Reading: SC awards Rs 10 lakh to Shaurya Chakra widow after 26 years
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SC awards Rs 10 lakh to Shaurya Chakra widow after 26 years
The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to grant extraordinary family pension to Kuldeep Kaur, widow of Shaurya Chakra awardee Mohan Singh, and pay her an additional Rs 10 lakh. Singh, who…
The Story in Brief
The Supreme Court has directed the Centre to grant extraordinary family pension to Kuldeep Kaur, widow of Shaurya Chakra awardee Mohan Singh, and pay her an additional Rs 10 lakh. Singh, who worked on a strategic border road, died on July 10, 2000, while rescuing workers from falling debris. The Centre posthumously awarded him the Shaurya Chakra in 2001.
Kaur had received compensation under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, but her pension claim was rejected. The court said authorities had wrongly classified the case and that it qualified under Category C of the CCS Pension Rules. The Centre has released Rs 14.28 lakh and Rs 4.12 lakh in arrears, the Attorney General told the court.
The Indian Opinion
The lazy narrative is that gallantry awards automatically protect families from bureaucratic delay. This case shows the opposite. It is also too simple to blame every delay on one department, since the pension rules and compensation provisions were applied in conflict. The Supreme Court’s Rs 10 lakh direction offers relief, but the real test is whether similar claims are settled without litigation and within a fixed time limit.
Sources (2): timesofindia.indiatimes.com, indiatoday.in
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
