Gujarat HC orders pension for handicap daughter

The state government on Monday assured Gujarat high court to pay pension to a 55-year-old handicap woman in Junagadh district with arrears since 2005 as per the provisions made in pension rules in 1999.

In this case, an employee of state's animal husbandry department - Osmanbhai Sumra - died in 1988 and the state government started paying family pension to his wife. The pension amount stopped in 2005 when the widow passed away.

The couple had a daughter Khatuben with 80% disability. After the state government stopped pension following the death of employee's widow, the relatives demanded that the pension be continued for the daughter as per the amendment brought in by the government in 1999, which made the disabled daughters eligible for pension.

The hurdle came when the pension office could not find Sumra's service records. The relatives too did not have any knowledge about the last posting and position of the employee. They obtained information from Junagadh Agriculture University about Sumra's service and submitted it before the authorities, but the pension office did not respond.

Finally, Khatuben moved the high court through one of her relatives insisting that she was eligible for pension. When the hearing took place before Justice Abhilasha Kumari on Monday, the government submitted that it would start giving pension to Khatuben and would also pay the arrears from 2005.