MADURAI: Holding that elderly people may be granted old age pension even while being under the care of their relatives, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court recently helped an 83-year-old man get pension, after the same was denied by authorities citing that he was under the care of his grandchildren.
Justice GK Ilanthiraiyan passed the order on a petition filed by P Chinnakalai of Theni district.
Chinnakalai had applied for old age pension under the Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme, but the same was rejected by revenue officials in 2023 citing that his wife is getting old age pension and he is being looked after by his grandsons.
The government counsel justified the decision, citing that only destitute individuals can avail old age pension under the above scheme. However, the judge observed that the petitioner not being a destitute does not necessarily mean he is maintained by his grandsons. The authorities are duty bound to conduct a proper inquiry and afford sufficient opportunity to the applicant to establish his financial position, which was not done in the petitioner's case, the judge noted.
He also pointed out that there could be instances where the claimant may be residing with his relatives, but may not be taken care of or financially assisted by them. There could also be instances where the claimant may have children, who may have neglected him, the judge stated, adding that there is no specific condition in the said scheme that the benefit cannot be extended to persons who are taken care of by relatives. Authorities cannot state such a reason to deny the claim, and even if the petitioner may be taken care of by his grandchildren, he may require further financial help for medical and incidental expenses, the judge observed. The judge quashed the rejection order and directed the authorities to grant old age pension to the petitioner, starting this month.