NEW DELHI: Sailing above archaic and skewed perceptions about stepmothers, SC on Thursday questioned the Indian Air Force on how it could deny a family pension to a stepmother who had cared for her stepson from childhood to adulthood and enabled him to join the armed forces.
Justifying the denial of family pension to a woman upon the death of her airman stepson, whom she had raised since the age of six, the IAF stated that this decision was in accordance with existing regulations.
The bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh then remarked, "Mother is a wide term. Why should it not include stepmother?" When IAF again said stepmothers are clearly barred under the relevant regulations, Justice Kant said, "Your regulations are neither a constitutional mandate nor carved on stone." Justice Kant said in this modern age when couples are resorting to surrogacy to become parents, should IAF bar these parents from getting pension if their child, after becoming an adult, joins the Air Force and unfortunately dies while in service?
He also stated that many couples are adopting toddlers and raising them to become worthy citizens of this country, and asked whether these parents, in the event of an unfortunate incident that takes the life of their son or daughter while serving in the armed forces, should be denied a family pension.
Justices Kant and Singh also asked the IAF to consider a scenario similar to the one presented in the petition filed by Jayashree Y Yogi: if a woman dies during childbirth and her husband remarries, and if the second wife raises the child, who later joins the armed forces and dies in an unfortunate incident, should she be regarded as the mother or deprived of the family pension, being treated as a stepmother? Jayashree had raised Harsha from the age of six after his biological mother passed away.
She said, "The Armed Forces Tribunal, only on the ground that she is a stepmother, disentitled her to the benefit of special family pension stating it can be given only to the biological mother of the deceased IAF employee." Strangely, the AFT upheld the decision of IAF to deny them family pension on the second ground that cumulative annual income of Harsha's parents was Rs 84,792, which is more than limit prescribed by the ministry of defence.
Justifying the denial of family pension to a woman upon the death of her airman stepson, whom she had raised since the age of six, the IAF stated that this decision was in accordance with existing regulations.
The bench of Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh then remarked, "Mother is a wide term. Why should it not include stepmother?" When IAF again said stepmothers are clearly barred under the relevant regulations, Justice Kant said, "Your regulations are neither a constitutional mandate nor carved on stone." Justice Kant said in this modern age when couples are resorting to surrogacy to become parents, should IAF bar these parents from getting pension if their child, after becoming an adult, joins the Air Force and unfortunately dies while in service?
He also stated that many couples are adopting toddlers and raising them to become worthy citizens of this country, and asked whether these parents, in the event of an unfortunate incident that takes the life of their son or daughter while serving in the armed forces, should be denied a family pension.
Justices Kant and Singh also asked the IAF to consider a scenario similar to the one presented in the petition filed by Jayashree Y Yogi: if a woman dies during childbirth and her husband remarries, and if the second wife raises the child, who later joins the armed forces and dies in an unfortunate incident, should she be regarded as the mother or deprived of the family pension, being treated as a stepmother? Jayashree had raised Harsha from the age of six after his biological mother passed away.
She said, "The Armed Forces Tribunal, only on the ground that she is a stepmother, disentitled her to the benefit of special family pension stating it can be given only to the biological mother of the deceased IAF employee." Strangely, the AFT upheld the decision of IAF to deny them family pension on the second ground that cumulative annual income of Harsha's parents was Rs 84,792, which is more than limit prescribed by the ministry of defence.
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