New Delhi: 25-12-2007.

The Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) has held that the dependents of a deceased casual labourer would be entitled to family pension only if he was regularised before his death.

A Bench of the Tribunal headed by Member Meera Chhibber said, “the question of grant of family pension to a widow would arise only if the casual labourer was regularised.”

It held: “Legal representatives of a casual labourer may not be entitled to the benefit of family pension although the deceased employee might have attained temporary status in accordance with the relevant rules.

“It is essential that before his death, he should have been subjected to screening, and should have been regularised in service, which only enables the legal representatives to claim the benefit of family pension.”

Screening test

The Bench observed that the fact that he evaded screening test for regularisation made it clear that he was not regularised till his death.

It delivered the judgment while deciding a petition by Subalaya Devi, widow of Kunoo Ram, who had prayed for direction to the Indian Railways to release her family pension.

By Shamsheer (H)