Consider govt employee’s plea to include live-in partner in family pension: Delhi HC to Centre

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has directed the Centre to consider a retired government employee’s plea to include the names of his live-in partner of over 40 years and their children in the Pension Payment Order for family pension and healthcare facilities.

A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Madhu Jain held that the petitioner government employee never concealed his relationship, and treating his efforts to include the names of his partner and children as his family as “grave misconduct” to deny post-retirement benefits was erroneous.

The bench therefore set aside a 2018 order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) upholding the decision of the authorities to withhold 50 per cent of monthly pensionary and gratuity benefits be given to the personnel who retired in 2012.

“The CCS (Pension) Rules empower the authorities to withhold pension only in cases of grave misconduct or negligence,” the court said, adding, “The petitioner’s conduct does not fall within the ambit of ‘grave misconduct’ or ‘negligence’ as contemplated under the Rules.”
“We find no legitimate reason for the respondents to permanently withhold 50 per cent of the petitioner’s monthly pension and gratuity or for denying family pension to the petitioner’s dependents,” the court said.

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