40 yrs on, IAF man's widow gets dual pension

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Mohali, February 10

After nearly 40 years of struggle, Sukhjeet Kaur, 71, widow of IAF’s Leading Aircraftman (LAC) Mohinder Singh of Salana (Amloh) in Punjab’s Fatehgarh Sahib district, has finally got dual family pension. Her family pension was stopped in 1982 after she had remarried.

Her husband had served the IAF from January 4, 1964, to November 21, 1971, and was medically boarded out of service with 20% disability. He then joined the IAF again, as a civilian technician, on June 26, 1974, but died on March 27, 1975, while in service.

His widow claimed family pension from the civil side and got it in June 1976. Back then, widows had the choice of claiming only single family pension.

Sukhjeet went on to marry Mohinder’s younger brother Harjinder Singh in June 1975, which went against the rules for receiving ordinary family pension (OFP). The pension was stopped in 1982 after the IAF received a complaint.

After running from pillar to post, Sukhjeet approached the AFT (Armed Forces Tribunal) on January 6, 2011, but the plea was rejected in 2014, saying it was of civil nature, not military.

However, Ex-Servicemen Grievances Redress Cell president Lt Col SS Sohi (retd) noticed she could receive dual family pension from the IAF as also from the civil side. She then approached the IAF and demanded release of 20% disability pension (granted to Mohinder at the time of his discharge).

The disability pension was converted and released as family pension by the IAF in 2015. A case was filed in the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on April 28, 2014, for civil pension but it was rejected on December 16, 2015. She again approached CAT on April 26, 2016, but the case was again rejected with the observation “Not permitted being remarriage case for OFP”.

On July 16, 2019, the complainant moved the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which finally allowed her second family pension on January 16, 2023.

Sukhjeet will now receive Rs 12,000 as first family pension and will also get around Rs 17,000 as second family pension, besides free medical and other facilities, said Lt Col Sohi.

The cell had been regularly taking up the case of second family pension for widows with the government, which allowed it on December 28, 2012, and published orders, but it was not being followed by many state governments, he lamented.