Mst. TASAWAR BEGUM vs EMPLOYEES' OLD AGE BENEFIT INSTITUTION ADJUDICATING AUTHORITY-III, ISLAMABAD S

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Mst. TASAWAR BEGUM VS EMPLOYEES' OLD AGE BENEFIT INSTITUTION ADJUDICATING AUTHORITY-III, ISLAMABAD S. 22B(2)---Survivor's Pension---Second wife/widow of the deceased employee/insured person claimed survivor's pension after the death of first widow, who was receiving such pension---Employees Old-Age Institution/respondent denied the claim of the second wife on the ground that her Nikah with the deceased employee was solemnized after the age of 60 years, thus, she was not entitled to survivors' pension---Validity---Section 22B(2) of the Employees' Old-Age Benefits, 1976, (Act) clearly exhibits the intention and wisdom of the legislature by putting a condition that only such spouse will be entitled to survivor's pension, who had married the deceased pensioner/employee before he attained the minimum age prescribed for the old age pension---Law had not put any clog on the right of the employee to contract multiple marriages, as per his personal law, but only regulated the award of the pension to surviving spouse, by stipulating the conditions of entitlement---Pakistan is not an economically developed and/or advanced country rather a developing country with limited resources---While the legislature had provided for the survivor's benefit to a widow but had placed a curtailment on such benefit, that same should not be permissible to a widow, who married a deceased after a particular age prescribed in this regard, which was intended to save the respondent-EOBI from an unnecessary burden in view of the limited resources for provision of survivor's benefit---Even though pension is not a bounty from the employer but across the globe, different States have devised and set out mechanisms and regulatory framework by way of imposing limitations regarding the time when the marriage takes place, length of the marriage, age differences to avoid the obvious unfair exploitation of the scheme by marrying on one's death bed or after a particular prescribed age, that puts burden on limited financial resources of the institution---Plain language used by the legislature in S. 22B (2) of the Act left no room for further exercise by High Court by resort to any other artillery of interpretation except principle of literal interpretation---Section 22B(2) of the Act does not run against such standards set out by the International Labour Organization and laws of other jurisdiction---Petitioner remained silent since the death of deceased employee and had acquiesced to the receipt of pension exclusively by the first wife, thus, the petitioner was estopped from claiming the survivor's pension after the death of first wife---High Court found no illegality in the order of rejection passed by respondent/EOBI---Constitution petition was dismissed, in circumstances.

Mst. TASAWAR BEGUM vs EMPLOYEES' OLD AGE BENEFIT INSTITUTION ADJUDICATING AUTHORITY-III, ISLAMABAD S — 2025 PLC 121 LAHORE-HIGH-COURT-LAHORE

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