The Centre on Thursday told the Supreme Court that under the Indian Air Force’s pension regulations, a stepmother cannot be treated at par with a biological mother for the purpose of claiming family pension.
Appearing before a bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, and N Kotiswar Singh, Additional Solicitor General K M Nataraj submitted that pension, though recognised as a right and not a bounty, is subject to statutory provisions and conditions of eligibility.
“It is a settled principle of law that, although pension is not a bounty and is claimable as a matter of right, such a right is neither absolute nor unconditional. A person seeking pensionary benefits must establish a clear entitlement under the applicable statutory provisions or regulations,” the Centre argued.
The matter arose from an appeal by Jayashree Y Jogi, who had challenged a December 2021 order of the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) denying her claim for special family pension. Jogi, who raised the deceased airman from the age of six after his mother’s death and the father’s subsequent remarriage, argued that she should be recognised as a dependent stepmother.
Her son, serving in the Indian Air Force, died under mysterious circumstances at an Air Force mess on April 28, 2008. While she maintained her entitlement to family pension, the authorities claimed that the death was by suicide and denied her claim under the regulations.
The Centre pointed out that Regulation 192 of the Pension Regulations for the Indian Air Force, 1961 specifies the categories of eligible dependents for special family pension as: (i) lawfully wedded widow, (ii) father, (iii) mother, (iv) legitimate son, and (v) legitimate daughter.
It argued that the term “mother” in the regulation refers only to the biological mother, as consistently interpreted in judicial precedents concerning maintenance and welfare benefits. “Including a stepmother, who by definition is not a biological parent, would amount to an unwarranted judicial expansion beyond the scope intended by the legislature,” the Centre stated.
While acknowledging that pension statutes are beneficial in nature and warrant liberal interpretation, the government stressed that such interpretation cannot exceed the clear boundaries of the statute.
The bench, which had earlier framed the issue as “Whether a stepmother is entitled to special and ordinary family pension under the Army regulations”, posted the matter for further hearing on November 20.
