IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA CWJC No.5160 of 2007 Most Rokaiya, Wife of Late S.M. Rijwanul Hasan, Resident of Mohalla Belan Bazar, Bengali, Tola, P.S. Kasim Bazar, Dist. Munger. --------------- Petitioner Versus 1. The State of Bihar through the Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Deptt. of Welfare, Govt. of Bihar, Patna. 2. The Commissioner-cum-Secretary, Deptt. of Welfare, Govt. of Bihar, Patna. 3. The Accountant General Bihar, Patna, Bir Chand Patel Path, Patna. 4. Director, Deptt. of Welfare, Govt. of Bihar, Patna. 5. Deputy Director, Welfare, Deptt. Munger, Division, Munger. 6. District, Magistrate, Munger. 7. Provident Fund Officer, Munger. 8. Treasury Officer, Munger. ------------- Respondents ----------- 2 04.05.2010 Heard learned counsel for the petitioner and counsel for the State as also the Accountant General. The prayer of the petitioner in this writ application reads as follows:- “I. For commanding and directing the respondents to resume the payment of provisional pension, as was being given to the petitioner, as well as fix the final pension of the same at the earliest. II. For commanding and directing the respondents to ensure the payment of Gratuity, G.P.F., and the benefit of unutilized leave, to the petitioner with statutory interest, till the date of final payment.” 2 Before this Court would adjudicate as with regard to the aforementioned prayer of the writ petitioner, it must mention here that an intervention application being I.A. No. 6431 of 2009 has been filed by one Md. Shahnawazul Hassan, who by claming to be son of the deceased employee Late S.M. Rizwanul Hassan, has claimed portion of retirement benefit. In the circumstance, prayer of Md. Shahnawazul Hassan for being added as a party to this application is allowed and he is impleaded as Respondent no. 9 to this writ application. The office is directed to make necessary correction in the cage column of this writ application. I.A. No. 6431 of 2009 is accordingly disposed of. Coming to the merits of the case, this Court would find that there is a bonafide dispute as with regard to the sharing of the amount of death-cum-retirement benefit of the deceased employee Late S.M. Rizawanul Hassan who was working as Head Clerk in the office of the Deputy Director of Welfare, Munger. From 3 the letter of the Deputy Director of Welfare, Munger dated 25.9.2006, it appears that the said employee had died in harness on 8.4.2006 after completing his service for a period of twenty-seven years eleven months and fifteen days and provisional family pension was sanctioned to the petitioner treating her to be the only widow of Late S.M. Rizawanul Hassan. Subsequently, the intervener of late S.M. Rizawanul Hassan had brought unimpeachable material before the authority to show that the deceased employee had three wives and had also issues from all three of them. It was further claimed by him that among the heirs and legal representative of Late S.M. Rizawanul Hassan, there were unmarried daughters and minor sons who too were entitled for apportionment of family pension as also other retirement benefit. Thus, in view of all these disputes as with regard to retirement benefit of the deceased employee, the concerned Deputy Director of Welfare, Munger by his order dated 12.1.2007 had stopped the payment of 4 provisional family pension being made in favour of the petitioner and had directed her as also Md. Shahnawazul Hassan to produce the succession certificate so as to settle their claim for family pension and other payable retirement benefits. Learned counsel for the petitioner has submitted that there is no dispute that the deceased employee had left behind the petitioner only as a surviving widow and therefore, the authority could not have stopped the payment of provisional family pension. In the opinion of this Court, under the Family Pension Scheme, it is not only the widow of the deceased but even the minor sons and unmarried daughters who are also eligible for receiving payment of family pension. In fact, if the deceased had three wives, the family pension also will have to be apportioned in three shares, inasmuch as, it is claimed that even from the two other wives who are said to have been died, there are minor sons and unmarried daughters. 5 In that view of the matter, this Court would not find any error in the approach of the Deputy Director of Welfare, Munger in directing the petitioner as also the intervener to produce the succession certificate. However, such issue of payment of family pension and other death-cum-retirement benefit of Late S.M. Rijwanul Hasan cannot be kept pending for an indefinite period. Thus, this Court would direct both the petitioner and the intervener son of the deceased, namely, Md. Shahnawazul Hassan to produce the documents in support of their claim including succession certificate within a period of one month from the date of receipt/production of a copy of this order whereafter, all the retirement benefits of the deceased employee shall be paid in proportionate manner as prescribed under the Family Pension Scheme and/or the relevant rules governing payment of other benefits. It will be also open for the heirs and legal representatives of the deceased employee Late S.M. Rijwanul Hasan to come to any amicable family settlement and submit it before the concerned authority, 6 namely, Deputy Director of Welfare who may after being satisfied of such family settlement, dispense with the requirement of succession certificate and make payment as per the agreed terms and condition of the family settlement With the aforementioned observations and directions, this application is disposed of. Rsh (Mihir Kumar Jha, J.)