SC to Check If Stepmother Qualifies of IAF Family Pension
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh raised questions over the IAF’s denial of pension to Jayashree, who reared her stepson Harsha from age six after his biological mother died.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to examine whether a stepmother qualifies for family pension under Indian Air Force (IAF) rules, observing that “mother is a very wide term.”
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and N. Kotiswar Singh raised questions over the IAF’s denial of pension to Jayashree, who reared her stepson Harsha from age six after his biological mother died. “If a baby’s biological mother passes away and the father remarries, isn’t the stepmother — who breastfeeds and brings up the child — his mother?” Justice Surya Kant asked the Air Force’s counsel.
The court noted that service regulations are administrative, not constitutional, and must be logically founded. “How can you deprive a stepmother of a special pension or family pension purely on a technicality?” Justice Kant asked.
IAF counsel cited precedents defining “stepmother” in pension rules, but the bench found both sides unprepared. The justices directed them to review two Punjab and Haryana High Court rulings — one under civil services rules — before the next hearing, which is scheduled for August 7.
Jayashree’s petition challenges a December 10, 2021 Armed Forces Tribunal order that upheld the IAF’s view restricting special family pension to biological mothers. The Supreme Court had issued notice to the Centre and the Air Force on her plea on July 19, 2024.