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Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)

Samera Bewa vs The State Of West Bengal & Ors on 2 April, 2012

Author: Biswanath Somadder

Bench: Biswanath Somadder

                                                      1


2nd April,
   2012.
 (SKB)
                                              W.P. No. 5199(W) Of 2010

                                                    Samera Bewa
                                                          Vs.
                                           The State of West Bengal & Ors.


                          Mr. Atis Kumar Biswas,
                                                          ....for the petitioner.

                                     Mr. Ahibhushan Chakraborty,
                                                           ....for the State.


                   The petitioner claims to be a widow of a villager who died in the year 1982.
             She has filed the instant writ petition in the year 2010, essentially seeking
             issuance of a writ in the nature of mandamus commanding the respondent

authorities to consider her application dated 20th February, 2009, for release of widow pension in her favour. According to the petitioner, she comes within the purview of the widow pension scheme under the National Social Assistance Programme.

However, in answer to this Court's query as to why the petitioner did not apply for getting benefit of widow pension till the year 2009, the learned advocate for the petitioner submits that the she was not entitled to get widow pension till she attained the age of forty. The moment she attained the age of forty, she applied for grant of widow pension in the year 2009 under the programme.

The writ petitioner's husband, on her own admission, died on 20th April, 1982. Since she applied for widow pension in the year 2009, i.e. twenty seven years after the death of her husband upon attaining the age of forty years, a simple arithmetical calculation can reveal that the writ petitioner was thirteen years old at the time of death of her husband. Whether Indian law permits a minor, aged thirteen years, to get married or claim marital status in the first place was another query of this Court to which the writ petitioner's advocate could not give any answer.

The writ petition, on the face of it, is thoroughly misconceived and devoid of any merit and is liable to be summarily dismissed and is accordingly dismissed.

Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if applied for, be given to the learned advocates for the parties.

(Biswanath Somadder, J.)