Arif Iqbal 22 September 2017

Pension stopped due to not linking to AADHAAR number

Sir, My mother's name is JAHAN ARA. We are resident of Bokaro steel city, Jharkhand. My Late father,SABIR HUSSAIN ANSARI,was an employee of STEEL AUTHORITY OF INDIA LIMITED,BSL. When he died on 7th December,2010,he had 6 months of service left with the company. When my father was about to retire,the company gave him his personal documents to check for any anomaly in the information of his retirement. Here my father made a small mistake which had its repercussions that we are still dealing with it. In his personal information,my father had given his consent to several of his documents. But he fail to correct my mother's name in those documents. In one document,he named her as J.ARA. In other document,he named her JEHAN ARA. In yet other document,he named her JAHAN ARA. After my father's death,the company issued Separation Order in my mother's name,that is JEHAN ARA. We had a hell of an ordeal in solving the mistake. After running from pillar to post and several meetings with the company's officials and many affidavits,the officials agreed that my mother's name should be is JAHAN ARA,as my mother intended it to be. But the Separation Order name remained as JEHAN ARA. My mother got the P.F , Gratuity and other company benefits as JAHAN ARA. My father had a pension under EPFO's pension scheme,1995,which he was receiving since his age of 58years. After my father's died,we regularise of pension in my mother's name. Since the name of my mother was mentioned as JEHAN ARA in Separation Order,the official of the bank adviced us to get pension regularise in my mother's name as JEHAN ARA as any other spelling would lead to stopping of pension. She was receiving the pension as JEHAN ARA. Recently,the pension was stopped as it was not linked to AADHAAR. In AADHAAR,my mother is mentioned as JAHAN ARA. When we went for linking of AADHAAR with pension,bank official asked us to get spelling of my mother's name be changed to JEHAN ARA in AADHAAR else the pension will be stopped forever if we don't link it to AADHAAR. We have a problem with that. My mother has several documents like pan card,voter card, passport, ration card,bank account, insurance etc where she is mentioned as JAHAN ARA. Most of the document is linked to ADHAAR. If we change the spelling of my mother's name in ADHAAR to JEHAN ARA,then we have to change the spelling in almost all the documents. Which is next to impossible and time consuming. So we decided to take a chance in getting the pension account name of my mother be changed to JAHAN ARA. We went to Asst commissioner (pension), EPFO, Ranchi. There we were told that they could not do anything as that is a government office and nothing can be done except changing the spelling in AADHAAR. My mother has always identified herself as JAHAN ARA. Just to get a our own money,she has to get her identity changed. I don't think it is dignified. Just a small mistake by my father has led to so much of trouble and pain. AADHAAR is adding to our problems. My mother is being asked to compromise on her identity just to get our own money. How can we loose our identity to avail a government service? Doesn't that violate the Article 21 of Constitution of India-Right to Life and personal liberty? Even if we have made a mistake,we have the Right to Life that has been guaranteed by Constitution. I need advice.

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12 Replies

SHREY DAMBHARE 22 September 2017

File a Writ in High Court. Pension is not bounty which can be given as per whims and fancies of the employer. Your mother is eligible for your father's pension that is enough. Once, she is eligible then pension cannot be stopped on any ground. Authorities neither correcting name nor giving pension, which they cannot do. Consult a good lawyer of High Court and file Writ in the nature of mandamus for directing authorities to give your mother pension as simple as that. There are so many Supreme Court judgment and this is most important principle that Pension is not bounty which can be given as per whims and fancies of the employer just remember it.

G.L.N. Prasad (Retired employee.) 22 September 2017

Please understand your financial position and capacity and do not enter into unnecessary problems. When the pension is being receiving through Bank pass book, your mother's name must have been mentioned clearly in Bank pass book linked to Pension. Bank passbook is bonafide identity proof. Modifying name in AADHAR is one week job at the most now. No body is eating away the pension. When nation is switching to new procedures to facilitate every citizen, there may be some inconvenience here and there. Understand the position of the employer also, as systems will not accept if there is change in name. (Try to use one letter extra in your pass word for your own e mail and try to open your own e mail). Hope you have received the relief now. When there is a trouble, get it sorted out if it is within your hands and do not make things complicated, as a common man is not prepared to filed writs before HC and fight with a large company equipped with Advocates/standing counsels.

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P. Venu (Advocate) 22 September 2017

Yes, the mistake is bonafide and there, certainly, are means to correct it other than resorting to a rit Petition which could quite expensive. The error in the name in Adhar could be got corrected.

Arif Iqbal 22 September 2017

Once you change the spelling of the name in the AADHAAR,you will have to change the other documents like passport,driving licence,pan card,voter ID, other bank account with original name, insurance, other financial instruments,land records,electricity bill etc that are linked to AADHAAR. That is a tiresome process which may take months to get done. And not to forget the amount of money needed including the bribe to the government official is also to be taken into consideration to get the job done.
Well that you are suggesting is a practical solution in a short term. But it will give you problems in coming days. I am saying this as I have gone through it from the days when AADHAAR didn't exist. Now we have to start from from scratch all over again once we get the spelling change in AADHAAR.

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G.L.N. Prasad (Retired employee.) 23 September 2017

Right obseration by Janab Iqbal. But for a pensioner lady, what documents are more important than getting a regular pension ?

Arif Iqbal 23 September 2017

Well in matters of inheritance you have to prove that she is your mother. Just like officials are asking to prove that who her husband is just on the spelling mistake. All my documents has her name as original name as in AADHAAR to prove she is my mother.

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P. Venu (Advocate) 23 September 2017

The further posting suggest that this has been less than a real story.

Arif Iqbal 23 September 2017

I am not a lawyer & I am not negotiating. If I had been a lawyer,I wouldn't be here,I would have been in court.I just wanted a legal opinion on the matter and what could be done on the matter. I have got my answers. Any further consulting is not needed. Thank you all of you for your time.

Arif Iqbal 23 September 2017

GANDHI MOHAN BHARATI (Pensioner) 23 September 2017

I am afraid that though Aadhaar is good, it has its own problems. All payments from Government get shifted to the Bank where Aadhaar is linked last. I had a bitter experience in that and a lot of people in my villafge also were affected in similar manner.

I have been represning to UIDAI to differentiate between the terms "Linking" and "Seeding'. I even wrote a D.O. letter to the CEO of UIDAI.

All my representaion to UIDAI met with a parrot like reply "Contact Your Branch Manager"

Wih Government's mandate to link Aadhaar to Bank Accounts, a lot of running around to find where the subsidies and pension have gone.

(Guest)

Mr. Iqbal

U mentioned that the pension was stopped as ur mother's name was not linked to Aadhar. Aadhar is not mandatory to avail of pensionary benefits.To rectify this error u can file a name correction affidavit before a recognized notary and file 2 copies with AC(P) EPFO.Just remember to file correction affidavits for every of your mother's Aadhar-related accounts (bank/PO etc) as correction of one will mean correction for all of them to avoid legal lockjams later on.

Whilst in service, if your father has paid at least one months' contribution into EPF at time of death, pension would be eligible to be given to your mother u/Section 16(1)(a) of 1995 EPS Scheme. Please do not worry Mr. Iqbal. There is no way the Government can deny pensionary benefits to your mother if a correction affidavit is filed by her and sworn to the Commissioner, EPF.

As regards your query on whether change in Aadhar card details affects other documents connected to Aadhar, u can file for a legal name change certificate by filing an affidavit stating reasons for change of name(in your mother's case, it would be because of a clerical error) & get it signed by an advocate/notary. Get it published in a leading paper. And wait for the govt notification to be released.

If there's any further q u would like to ask me plz feel free to contact me at basu_kunal@hotmail.com or on this forum. I would be most happy to help u out.

Regards, Advocate Kaybee