Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Tapan Kumar Manna & Ors vs Union Of India & Ors on 17 June, 2022
Author: Moushumi Bhattacharya
Bench: Moushumi Bhattacharya
17.06.2022
sayandeep
Sl. No. 02
Ct. No. 05
WPA 8139 of 2018
With
IA NO:CAN/2/2022
Tapan Kumar Manna & Ors.
-Versus-
Union of India & Ors.
Mr. Ramdulal Manna
Ms. Manju Manna(Dey)
Mr. Sabyasachi Mondal
Mr. Sayan Mukherjee
...... for the petitioners
Mr. Debasish Saha
.... for the S.B.I.
Mr. M. M. Verma
..... for the U.O.I.
It appears from the order dated 24.03.2021 that
the petitioner's name has been wrongly described in the
cause title of the orders passed by the Court. the
petitioner's name is Tapan Kumar Manna and the last
of the dated 13.06.2022 should accordingly be
corrected.
The petitioner had filed CAN 2 of 2022, to
challenge Notice dated 18.04.2022 of the Ministry of
Home Affairs/Grih Mantralaya of the Government of
India by which the Ministry had stated that the
petitioners' case has been examined afresh and has
reiterated its earlier decision communicated by a letter
2
dated 9/10 March, 2022. The petitioners' documents
have been returned with the request to furnish the
documents as requested by the letter dated 9/10
March, 2022.
The letter dated 9/10 March, 2022 was issued in
response to a representation made on behalf of the
petitioners dated 14.01.2022 in connection with the
payment of Life time Arrear(LTA) to the petitioners from
23.02.2016-18.090.2020. The petitioners are the only
legal heirs of one late Smt. Kamal Manna, wife of one
late Sri Jatindra Nath Manna. The petitioners are the
one son and three married daughters of late Jatindra
Nath Manna and Smt. Kamala Manna. Smt. Kamala
Manna was initially the sole petitioner in the writ
petition and is a widow of late Jatindra Nath Manna
who died on 22.02.2016. Smt. Kamala Manna
thereafter applied for grant of family pension under the
Swatantrata Sainik Samman pension(Yojana) Scheme,
1980 which had been sanctioned in favour of Jatindra
Nath Manna by way of Pension Payment Order on
04.09.1986. Kamala Manna's application for family
pension was made on 30.06.2016 which was also
sanctioned, would appear from the Pension Payment
Order granted in favour of Kamala Manna's' late
husband.
Upon the death of Kamala Manna on 19.09.2020,
the present petitioners applied for substitution which
3
was allowed by an order of coordinate Bench on
09.02.2021. The petitioners as the legal heirs and
successors of late Jatindra Nath Manna and late
Kamala Manna were brought on record.
The issue which is to be adjudicated is whether
the impugned letters of the Ministry of Home Affairs
dated 9/10 March, 2022 and 18th April, 2022 can be
sustained. The said letters directed that the petitioners
should furnish a Succession Certificate under Section
372 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 and other
documents including Bank Account details and
attested copies of PAN Card and Aadhaar Card. There
is no controversy in relation to the Bank account details
and PAN Card and Aadhaar Card. The only issue is
whether the petitioners are required to produce the
Succession Certificate as directed by the Home
Ministry.
The petitioners' claim is for Lifetime Arrears of
family pension from 26.06.2016-18.09.2020. The only
fact which the petitioners are hence required to prove is
that the petitioners are the only legal heirs and
representative of the late Kamala Manna but as the
widow of the late Jatindra Nath Manna, was also
sanctioned the family pension under the Freedom
Fighters Schemes. An order passed by a coordinate
Bench on 06.12.2021 in WPA 13499 of 2021 (Subhas
Chandra Khatua & Ors. vs. Union of India & Ors.) was
4
on identical facts. In that case, the petitioners had
approached the writ court against a demand of a
Succession Certificate for the purpose of grant of
accrued pensionary dues which were payable to the late
mother of the petitioners before the Court. Upon
considering the relevant Judgment including of Smt.
Savitri Devi & Anr. vs. District & Sessions Judge,
Hanumangarh as well as the decision of the Kerala High
Court in WPA 556 of 2014, the Court held that although
a copy of the Succession Certificate may be necessary to
be produced in case where the evidence of Heirship
Certificate is required, there is no such requirement
where the petitioners have been able to prove that they
are the only lawful claimant to the debt payable by the
Union of India. The Court accepted the Heirship
Certificate of the local authorities as evidence in this
respect. The present case fits entirely with the decision
of the coordinate Bench in (Subhas Chandra Khatua &
Ors. vs. Union of India & Ors.). The petitioners have
produced an Heirship Certificate dated 17.03.2022 from
the concerned Gram Panchayat which has been signed
by the Pradhan. The Certificate states that the four
petitioners before the Court are the only legal heirs of
late Jatindra Nath Manna and late Kamala Manna. It is
also states that Smt. Kamala Manna died on
09.09.2020 leaving behind the four petitioners as her
only legal heirs. Section 372 of the Indian succession
5
Act, 1925 makes it clear that Pension receivable by the
petitioners on account of the death of a parent is not
debt within the meaning of the said provisions. Hence,
there can be no requirement of producing a Succession
Certificate in facts which are present before this Court.
Moreover, one of the impugned documents of being
9/10th March, 2022 states the names of all the four
petitioners before this Court as the legal heirs of late
Smt. Kamala Manna. The Home Ministry, therefore
having taken its stand, cannot insist upon a Succession
Certificate particularly when there is an order of this
Court as stated above. The Certificate of the local
Administration should be deemed to be sufficient for the
evidence of the fact that the petitioners are the only
legal heirs and representative of late Jatindra Nath
Manna and late Smt. Kamala Manna.
This Court is hence of the view that the
requirement in the impugned letters of 9/10th March,
2022 and 18th April. 2022 cannot be sustained and the
said documents are hence cancelled. The respondent
No. 3 being the under Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Freedom Fighters' Division, is hence directed to release the Lifetime Arrears of pension to the petitioners for the period of 23.02.2016-18.09.2020 on the basis of the Heirship Certificate dated 17.03.2022 within a period of four weeks from the date of communication of this order. 6 Since there has been an admitted delay on the part of the Ministry, the said amount shall be disbursed to the petitioners along with interest at 6% on the amount payable to the petitioners which shall be included in the same to be disbursed to the petitioners.
WPA 8139 of 2018 and CAN 2 of 2022 are accordingly disposed of in terms of the above.
(Moushumi Bhattacharya, J.)