Hi, I wish to get an opinion in a case: A government servant retires from government service 1973 and has been drawing pension till the date of his death in 1996. His wife too expires six months later. Out of 6 children, one of his daughters claims to be unmarried till date and has applied for Family Pension on the basis of DoP&T's O.M. in 2007 that family pension should be extended to unmarried daughters after the death of her parents. She had approached her father's office from where he retired to process her case for Family Pension. The office asked for certain documents which included a Succession Certificate. She submitted an Affidavit from a First Class Magistrate that she is the only unmarried daughter and all her siblings are married and employed/have monthly income of more than Rs.3500/-. In the Affidavit, her name is addressed as "Ms." while a lease deed issued by M/o Urban Development indicating that she is the daughter of the deceased govt. servant addresses her name as "Smt.". She has been repeatedly asked to produce a Succession Certificate. The Voter I-Card provided by her also proves that she is the daughter of the deceased govt. servant.
My Query is: On what basis does the office determine that the applicant is unmarried? What is the procedure to obtain a Succession Certificate and what is the correct format? Her purpose is to get Family Pension since 2007. Kindly advise.
