In Brief
The State of Punjab appealed against a High Court ruling that employees transferred from pensionable to non-pensionable government posts remain entitled to family pension if they receive monthly pension and are covered under Rule 6.17(b) of the Punjab Service Rules. The State argued a proviso under Rule 5.3 excluded government liability for family pension in such cases. The Supreme Court held that a special Family Pension Scheme cannot be overridden by a general proviso in service rules. Since the scheme expressly granted family pension to covered pensioners without carving out an exception, the proviso cannot deny this benefit. The appeals were dismissed, and arrears were ordered disbursed within twelve weeks with 12% interest if delayed.
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