Not Every Case Of Death Of Police Personnel While Performing Duty Would Entitle Widow/Family To Extraordinary Pension: Allahabad HC

The Court said that the cause of death of the personnel has to have some causal connection with the performance of his duties.

The Court was hearing a Special Appeal directed against the order passed by a Single Judge in Writ-A where the Writ Petition filed by the Petitioner, seeking extraordinary pension under Uttar Pradesh Police (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1961 has been dismissed.

The bench of Chief Justice Arun Bhansali and Justice Jaspreet Singh observed, “…not every case of death of a police personnel while performing duty for any cause, whatsoever, would entitle the widow/family to extraordinary pension. The cause of death of the personnel has to have some causal connection with the performance of his duties.”

Advocate Sheshnath Bhardwaj appeared for the Appellant and Advocate Gopal Kumar Srivastava appeared for the Respondent.

Brief Facts-

The Appellant filed a Writ Petition challenging the order by the Principal Secretary which rejected her claim for extraordinary pension following her husband's death. Her husband, a Sub-Inspector with the Railway Police, died on duty. Initial reports indicated poisoning as the cause of death, and a second viscera report identified ethyl alcohol poison. Despite submitting multiple representations, her claim for an extraordinary pension was denied. The Appellant argued that under Rule 3, an extraordinary pension is payable when a police officer dies on duty.

The Court noted that in the present case, it is nobody’s case that the death occurred on account of any event/cause during the investigation, which resulted in the presence of poison in the viscera of the deceased, either 'Aluminum Phosphide' or 'Ethyl Alcohol' and, therefore, apparently the case of the Appellant would not be governed by the provisions of Rules for grant of extraordinary pension.

Accordingly, the Court dismissed the Appeal.