Family pension denied to daughter over divorce timing; Tripura High Court ruling explained – The Economic Times
A daughter has been denied her father's family pension by the Tripura High Court. She divorced her husband after her father's passing. The court ruled that eligibility for family pension must exist at the time of the pensioner's death. Her divorce was finalized in 2021, after her father died in 2018.Just a few days after marriage, Smt Paul's husband went missing and was never seen again. So, she moved back in with her father and stayed there for over 40 years. It wasn't until after he passed away that she decided to file for divorce in Family Court, Agartala, which she officially got on October 4, 2021.
Her father worked for the Agartala Municipal Corporation and retired on October 1, 2004.. While he was alive, he received pension as per the rules. He died on December 2, 2018. His wife and her mother had died much earlier. After that, she applied for her father's family pension as per Tripura State Civil Services (Revised Pension) Rules, 2017 on February 23, 2022.
She, also sent reminders and a legal notice regarding this, but the Municipal Authority rejected her request on October 4, 2024, taking the plea that a state government notification dated March 23, 2018, amended provision of pension rules which entitled a divorced daughter to get pension, but the Municipal Authority hadn't adopted this amendment. As a result, she was denied a family pension. So she filed a case in the Tripura High Court.
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Senior Advocate Mr P. Roy Barman and Advocate Mr. Samarjit Bhattacharjee represented her in the high court. Advocate Arijit Bhaumik represented the State of Tripura and others. The case was heard on February 12, 2026 and the judgement was given on April 1, 2026.
The Tripura High Court said that a daughter who gets divorced after her father's death can't get a family pension under the Tripura State Civil Services (Revised Pension) Rules, 2017. The Tripura High Court also clarified that eligibility for family pension must exist at the time of date of death of the pensioner, and cannot be obtained later.
According to her senior counsel, Mr. P. Roy Barman, at the time of her father's death, she was not a divorced daughter, but she was dependent on her father and in 2021, she submitted the petition for divorce, which was accordingly allowed.
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Roy Barman also argued that in the Revised Pension Rules, 2017, as applicable to the employees of the Agartala Municipal Corporation by virtue of a Notification dated December 21, 1991 and notification dated January 4, 1992, there is no restriction in the said rules which says that to get family pension, the divorce shall have to take place during the lifetime of the original pensioner or the spouse, or that at least such petition shall have to be filed when the original pensioner was alive.
According to the senior counsel, when no such differentiation has been created by the legislature, the municipality cannot deny family pension to her by creating two different classes of the same homogeneous section of the pensioner.
To support his contention, Mr. Roy Barman relied on a decision of the Supreme Court in case of All Manipur Pensioners Association vs. State of Manipur & Ors., AIR 2019 SC 3338.
In the said case, the state of Manipur adopted the Central Civil Service Pension Rules, 1972 as amended from time to time and as per Rule 49, a government employee, who retired in accordance with the provision of the Rules after completing service of not less than 30 years, would be entitled to 50% of the average emoluments as monthly pension subject to a maximum of Rs 4500 per month.
However, considering the increase in the cost of living, the Government of Manipur decided to increase the amount of pension as well as the pay of the employees and accordingly, they issued an Office Memo dated April 21, 1999 revising the quantum of pension with the stipulation that the employees who had retired on or after January 1, 1996, would be entitled to the revised pension at the higher rate whereas those who had retired before January 1, 1996, would be entitled to a lower percentage as was existing.
When the matter was finally challenged before the Supreme Court, the court observed that there cannot be two classes in a homogeneous group and ruled that such differentiation created by the Manipur government was arbitrary.
Mr. A. Bhaumik, representing the state of Tripura and the Municipal Corporation, argued before the high court that for getting family pension, the divorced daughter should be a family member of the original pensioner and be dependent on him/her and divorce proceedings should start at least when the original pensioner was alive.
Bhaumik also argued that the right to receive the pension should start right from the date the original pensioner passes away, not later. In this case, the current petitioner could only claim the family pension from 2021, when she was officially divorced.
So, according to Bhaumik, it's clear that at the time of the original pensioner's (her father) death, she wasn't a divorced daughter,which means she wasn't eligible for any family pension. He, however, acknowledged that the Revised Pension Rules of 2017 do apply to municipal corporation employees.
Bhaumik also referenced a ruling from a Division Bench of Calcutta High Court in case of Union of India & Ors. vs. Mita Saha Karmakar, WP.CT 36 of 2025, which was decided on December 9, 2025, to back up his arguments.
Keep reading to know why Smt Paul lost the family pension case.
Rule 8 of the Revised Pension Rules, 2017 makes provision for payment of family pension to the unmarried/widow daughter/divorced/disabled child in the following manner:
8. PAYMENT OF FAMILY PENSION FOR UNMARRIED/ WIDOW DAUGHTER/ DIVORCEE/DIVORCEE DAUGHTER/ DISABLED CHILD:
Family pension shall be admissible to non-earning unmarried daughter (until her marriage)/widow daughter (until her remarriage)/divorcee daughter (until restoration of her conjugal life) and disabled children in the event of death of the pensioner and his/her spouse. Criteria for non-earning unmarried daughter/widow daughter/divorcee daughter will be determined on the basis of monthly income up to Rs 3000/-. This benefit shall be effective from 1st day of April, 2017 and shall be extended only in genuine cases after proper verification of the records.
The Tripura High Court said that on plain reading of the said clause, it appears that the divorced daughter of the original pensioner, government employee, is entitled to get family pension on his or his spouse's death as the case may be.
Therefore, the high court said that the condition precedent for entitlement to family pension is that the daughter should be divorced when the original pensioner died as the right to receive such pension accrues on the death of the original pension or on the death of his/her spouse who was receiving the pension.
There are many cases where a divorce petition, though filed during the lifetime of the original pensioner or of his/her spouse, could not be disposed of by granting a decree of divorce by the concerned court before the death of the concerned parent of the applicant.
The high court said that therefore, with a holistic approach, the Govt. of India, Ministry of Personnel, P.G. & Pension, Department of Pension & Pensioners' Welfare by their Office Memos. dated September 11, 2013 and July 19, 2017 as relied on by counsel, Mr. A. Bhaumik, has also extended the benefit to these cases declaring them to be entitled to the family pension.
In the Office Memo. dated 11.09.2013 it clarified that the family pension is payable to the children as they are considered to be dependent on the Govt. servant/pensioner or his/her spouse.
Thus only those children who are dependent and meet other conditions of eligibility for family pension at the time of death of the Govt. servant or his/her spouse, whichever is later, are eligible for family pension.
Similarly, a family pension to a widowed/divorced daughter is payable provided she fulfils all eligibility conditions at the time of death/ineligibility of her parents and on the date her turn to receive the family pension comes.
Moreover, in the Office Memo. dated July 19, 2017, it is further clarified that benefit of family pension shall be extended to a divorced daughter in cases where the divorce proceeding has been initiated in a competent court during the life time of the employee/pensioner or his/her spouse, but divorce took place after their death, provided the claimant fulfills all other conditions for grant of family pension.
In the case in hand, the high court said that it appears that she was dependent on her father at the time of his death. From the contents of her application submitted on February 23, 2022 to the Municipal Commissioner, it appears that after a few days of her marriage, her husband left her in her father's house and did not take her back again.
She thus became dependent on her father but such dependency ceased to exist immediately on the death of her father and at that time, her status was of a 'married daughter separated from her husband' and not a divorced daughter.
Tripura High Court said: "The Rules do not permit grant of family pension to said category of married daughters."
Though the date of starting the divorce proceeding was not mentioned in her writ petition, but from the order of the Judge of the Agartala Family Court, it appears that she started the divorce suit in 2021 as could be gathered from the registration number of proceedings. On October 4, 2021, the court granted her of divorce on the ground that a compromise was reached between the parties.
The Tripura High Court reiterated that at the time of the death of her father, her status was not of a divorced daughter rather of a married daughter separated from her husband and dependent on her father.
The Revised Pension Rules, 2017 does not cover the petitioner's case to extend the benefit of family pension in her favour and there is no challenge regarding said Rules on the ground of arbitrariness or discrimination.
The high court said that under Article 226, they cannot rewrite a Rule by stretch of interpretation. This also cannot be treated as a case of discrimination amongst one homogenous class of people as only some specified categories of married daughters are entitled to get the benefit of family pension and not all.
Order: In view of the above discussions, the reliefs as sought by the petitioner claiming family pension on the ground of death of her father cannot be allowed. Accordingly, the writ petition is dismissed. No order as to costs. Interim application(s), if any, shall also stand disposed
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