Orissa HC orders to pay family pension to unmarried trans offsprings

The Orissa High Court has issued an order for immediate payment of family pension to the unmarried transgender offsprings of the deceased employees as per the legal provision.

Hearing a petition by K Kondagiri, the High Court issued the order.

As per reports, Kondagiri’s father, Balaji Kondagari, was a government employee in the rural development department in Rayagada district. After Balaji's death, the family pension was sanctioned to his wife Binjama. However, Binjama died of age-related ailments on July 17, 2020. Thereafter, Kondagiri, who is unmarried, applied for the family pension.

Though it was sanctioned by the competent authority in Kondagiri’s favour on June 29, 2021, the principal accountant general (A&E), Odisha, did not take any step for disbursal of the family pension in her favour.

Subsequently, Kondagiri filed a petition seeking the Court’s intervention for sanction of the family pension.

The single judge bench of Justice AK Mohapatra said, “The petitioner, as a transgender, has every right to choose her gender and accordingly, she had submitted her application for grant of family pension under Section 56(1) of the Odisha Civil Services (Pension) Rules, 1992. Such right has been legalised by the Supreme Court of India.”