The Supreme Court has asked whether a stepmother who raised her stepson can claim Indian Air Force family pension, calling the term “mother” extremely broad. The Bench has asked both sides to study past judgments and reappear on August 7.
The Supreme Court of India has recently said that it will look into whether a stepmother can be given family pension under the Indian Air Force (IAF) rules. The Court said that the word “mother” is a very wide term, and in today’s world, it is not just the biological mother who brings up a child.
A bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice N. Kotiswar Singh raised questions about the IAF’s decision to deny family pension to a woman who raised her stepson since he was six years old. The Court said that the rules made by the IAF are not based on any constitutional law, so they can be questioned.
While speaking during the hearing, Justice Surya Kant asked the IAF’s lawyer to consider a situation where a child loses his biological mother soon after birth, and the father marries again. If the stepmother raises the child from the time of breastfeeding and brings him up with love and care, and later the child joins the army, air force, or navy, “If she has really looked after that child, is she not his mother?”
The IAF’s lawyer replied that there are already many court judgments that say a stepmother is not eligible for family pension. “There are judgments of this court interpreting the word stepmother. There is a well-established criterion under the regulations as to who is eligible for family pension,” the lawyer said.
But the Bench questioned this logic. Justice Surya Kant responded,
“Regulations are something which you have decided. Regulations are not something constitutional mandates… We are questioning the logic behind these regulations. How and on what basis can you deprive technically a stepmother of a special pension or family pension.”
The Court was not satisfied with the arguments made by both sides. It felt that both the lawyers—representing the petitioner and the IAF—were not properly prepared. The Bench directed them to study the judgments made by the Supreme Court and High Courts on this issue.
Justice Surya Kant said,
“There are two judgments of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, including one related to civil services rules, which has dealt with the issue of stepmother and pension. You go through these judgments and come prepared on the next date of hearing,” and posted the case for further hearing on August 7.
This matter came before the Supreme Court after a woman named Jayashree filed a petition. She had raised her stepson Harsha from childhood after his biological mother died. Harsha later joined the Indian Air Force but sadly passed away.
After his death, Jayashree applied for a family pension but was denied by the IAF. She then approached the Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT), which also rejected her request on December 10, 2021.
The AFT said that only a biological mother can receive special family pension and ordinary family pension. This led Jayashree to file an appeal in the Supreme Court. The top court had already agreed to hear her plea on July 19 last year and had issued a notice to the Central Government and the Indian Air Force.
Now, the Supreme Court will decide an important question:
“The question that falls for consideration in this case is whether a stepmother is entitled to special pension and ordinary family pension as per the Army regulations.”
This case could bring important changes in how stepmothers are treated under Indian military pension rules, especially in cases where they have lovingly raised the child as their own.
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