The Delhi High Court has directed the Centre to consider a retired government employee's plea to include the names of his live-in partner of over 40 years and their children in the Pension Payment Order for family pension and healthcare facilities.
A Bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Madhu Jain held that the petitioner, a government employee, never concealed his relationship, and treating his efforts to include the names of his partner and children as part of his family as "grave misconduct" to deny post-retirement benefits was erroneous.
The problem of regulating live-in relationships
The Bench, therefore, set aside a 2018 order of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) upholding the decision of the authorities to withhold 50% of monthly pensionary and gratuity benefits be given to the personnel who retired in 2012.
"We find no legitimate reason for the respondents to permanently withhold 50% of the petitioner's monthly pension and gratuity or for denying family pension to the petitioner's dependents," the court said in its judgement passed on January 7.
