High Court grants family pension to widow, cites forged signatures in Assam Rifles discharge

DIMAPUR — The Kohima Bench of Gauhati High Court has ordered Assam Rifles (AR) authorities to grant family pension to the widow of an AR personnel, quashing discharge orders after finding evidence of forged signatures on key documents.

According to court documents, the widow, Merina Rhi, filed a petition seeking family pension for her late husband, who had died on May 14, 2019, after over 15 years of service in the Assam Rifles.

She contended that her husband, declared mentally unstable in 2015 and treated at Sukhovi Assam Rifles Hospital, Dimapur, was coerced into signing documents for voluntary retirement while on leave in late 2018.

The petitioner submitted representations on January 18 and 25, 2019, requesting revocation of any discharge application on her husband’s behalf.

Also read: Dimapur: Minor harassed, accused absconding after fresh FIR

However, these were ignored, and AR authorities later denied her family pension, stating that her husband had voluntarily applied for discharge effective January 31, 2019.

Central to the case were discrepancies in the signatures on the discharge applications and undertakings dated November 6, 15, and 16, 2018.

The petitioner argued that the signatures were forged and that her husband could not have signed the documents as he was on leave at home during that period.

The court observed that the signatures did not match her husband’s authentic signatures on other official documents, and the applications were pre-filled formats rather than personally executed requests.

In defence, the respondents argued that the husband had voluntarily applied for discharge, understood that he would forfeit pensionary benefits, and that final payments of his General Provident Fund (INR 1,21,476) and Assam Rifles Group Insurance Scheme funds (INR 81,651) had been released after adjusting his Individual Running Ledger Account.

In her judgement, Justice Yarenjungla Longkumer ruled that the discharge order and related undertakings were void ab initio (void from the beginning) due to forged signatures and procedural irregularities.

Accordingly, the court directed that the petitioner’s late husband be treated as “died in harness” on May 14, 2019, and ordered that all consequential benefits, including family pension, be released within five months. It clarified that no back wages would be admissible.