Widow will get the Pension of Dead Man not the Mother

The Supreme Court set aside the controversy between “saas-bahu” over the pension of the deceased man in the case of “Neetu vs Sheela Rani [S.L.P. (c) No. 21187 of 2015]”. The court held that the widow is only entitled to the pension of the dead man not his mother.

Facts

The deceased Yash Pal was an employee of the Haryana Government. His widow claims the pension of his late husband but the mother claims the same under the Hindu Succession Act as an heir. The mother of the deceased man filed a suit in the Civil judge court of Rohtak for getting the Succession certificate so that she can get the pension of his late son. The widow of the deceased man claims in the said suit that she is the only one who is entitled to the pension of the deceased person.

Being aggrieved by the decision the respondent’s mother filed a Revision petition in Punjab and Haryana High Court. The High Court allows the petition and; held that the mother is entitled to the pension under section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act. Being aggrieved by the decision of the High Court the widow filed the same appeal.

Observations  

The court while deciding the case observes that; according to Hindu Succession Act if any person dies intestate the property will go to the Heirs of Class-1. So the properties of the deceased person shall be decided among the mother and; the widow as the other legal heirs of Class-1 are not alive.

The court held that the position on pension is different in comparison to the property. The pension is not part of the late employee’s property. Hence it could not be divided into the heirs of Class-1. Even the employee cannot make a Will on pension by directing that someone will get his pension after his death. So the Supreme Court held that the Widow is only entitled to get the pension of the deceased, not his mother.

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