The Supreme Court has directed the Union Government to pay ₹10 lakh to the widow of a General Reserve Engineer Force (GREF) employee who lost his life while saving fellow workers during road construction operations along the India-China border and was subsequently awarded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously.
A Bench comprising Justice K.V. Viswanathan and Justice Arun Palli exercised its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution to extend the benefit of extraordinary family pension to Kuldeep Kaur, widow of late Mohan Singh, from the date of her husband’s death in 2000.
The Court was hearing Kaur’s appeal against a January 2026 judgment of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, which had upheld her entitlement to extraordinary pension but restricted the arrears to three years preceding the filing of her writ petition.
Mohan Singh was serving as an Overseer with the GREF and was posted as In-charge Works for the formation cutting of the Hayliang-Metangliang-Chaglohagom road in Arunachal Pradesh. The 57-kilometre road was considered strategically significant in view of its proximity to the Sino-Indian border.
On July 10, 2000, while supervising dozer operations at a hazardous rocky site, Singh noticed a large boulder and debris tumbling down from the hillside towards the construction machinery. He immediately alerted the operators and directed them to move to safety.
While helping shift the equipment away from the danger zone, Singh was caught in the path of the falling boulder and was swept approximately 70 metres into a valley. He succumbed to the injuries sustained in the incident.
In recognition of his exceptional courage and sacrifice, the Union Government conferred the Shaurya Chakra upon Singh posthumously on October 19, 2001. The Shaurya Chakra is India’s third-highest peacetime gallantry award.
Following his death, Kaur was receiving ordinary family pension. She subsequently sought special family pension under the CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939. Her claim was rejected on the ground that she had already received ₹1,84,170 under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, 1923, which, according to the authorities, disentitled her from receiving the liberalised pensionary benefit.
After her subsequent representation was rejected, Kaur approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court. The Single Judge held that Singh’s death fell within Category ‘C’ under the applicable pensionary framework and directed grant of extraordinary pension, subject to refund of the compensation amount along with interest. The Division Bench affirmed the finding but confined the arrears to three years preceding the filing of the writ petition, in view of an undertaking given on Kaur’s behalf.
Before the Supreme Court, the entitlement of Singh’s widow to extraordinary pension was not in dispute. The principal issue was whether the monetary benefit ought to remain restricted to the three-year period.
During the hearing, Attorney General R. Venkataramani informed the Bench that the authorities had already implemented the High Court’s decision. An amount of ₹14,28,200 had been released to Kaur and her pension had been processed, besides ₹4,12,064 towards arrears of extraordinary pension.
The Attorney General further submitted that the pension accruing from July 12, 2000, the date of Singh’s death, until July 12, 2015, amounted to ₹6,62,268 and would come to approximately ₹8.32 lakh after calculation of 6% interest.
The Union also pointed out that Kaur had received ₹1,84,170 under the Workmen’s Compensation Act, with the amount calculated at ₹2,78,092 after interest. According to the authorities, ₹4,62,262 would consequently be refundable under the applicable regulations. Kaur’s counsel, however, submitted that the principal compensation amount had already been returned.
Taking into account the peculiar circumstances of the case, the Supreme Court fixed ₹10 lakh as a consolidated amount for the period from July 13, 2000 to July 12, 2015.
The Bench made it clear that the relief was being granted in exercise of its powers under Article 142 and was confined to the peculiar facts and circumstances of the case. It specifically declined to restrict the benefit to the three years preceding the institution of the writ petition, despite the earlier statement made on behalf of the appellant.
The Court noted that Singh had lost his life in the course of performing his official duties and that the Government had subsequently recognised his act of bravery by conferring the Shaurya Chakra upon him.
The Bench observed that the widow’s delayed approach to the Court ought not, in the circumstances, to defeat the substantive relief arising from her husband’s sacrifice.
The Supreme Court accordingly directed the Union of India to release ₹10 lakh to Kaur within four weeks.
The judgment was delivered in Kuldeep Kaur v. Union of India & Ors., 2026 LiveLaw (SC) 783.
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