Wife eligible for family pension even if she murders husband, says HC

Can a woman who murders her husband be eligible for family pension? Yes – according to the Punjab and Haryana High Court.

The decision came during the hearing of a petition filed by one Baljeet Kaur of Ambala, who was convicted in a murder case in 2011.

Baljeet Kaur told the court that her husband Tarsem Singh was a Haryana government employee who died in 2008. In 2009, she was booked for murder and convicted two years later.

She was getting the family pension till 2011 but the Haryana government stopped the pension after her conviction.

The court set aside the order and directed the concerned department to release the petitioner’s family pension within two months along with the dues.

“Nobody butchers the hen giving golden eggs. The wife cannot be deprived of the family pension even if she murders her husband,” the court observed on January 25.

“Family pension is a welfare scheme that was launched to provide financial help to the family in the event of a government employee’s death. Wife is entitled to family pension even if she is convicted in a criminal case.”