INTRODUCTION
On August 08th 2025, the Supreme Court of India marked a moment in the family pension scheme of Indian Air Force (IAF) to redefine the interpretation of “mother” in the family pension scheme.
BACKGROUND OF THE CASE
A stepmother who raised her stepson after the death of his mother is the appellant in this case that came before the Supreme Court of India. Her stepson who was an officer in the Indian Airforce. His death was recorded as ‘Aluminium Phosphide Poisoning’ during his service as airman at Airforce and later after inquiry it was recorded as suicide. His biological mother died when he was 6 years old and thereafter his stepmother took care of him with all love and care. The appellant approached the Indian Air Force for receiving the family pension of his deceased step son. But her application was rejected stating that only the biological mother is eligible for the family pension according to the regulations and the step mother is not eligible for the maintenance. Also she is not getting an ordinary pension as her combined income exceeds the limit.
RULES AND REGULATIONS
As per the counsel of the IAF states that according to Section 125 of Crpc States those who all are eligible for the maintenance purposes. According to the Pension regulations of the Airforce, the mother is restricted to biological mothers that doesn’t include step mother, guardian,adoptive mothers. So there is no need to challenge the pension regulation.
COURT’S OPINION
The supreme Court Judges, Justices Surya Kant and N Kotiswar Singh were the judges who heard the matter. They criticized the irregularity and the narrow sense in the pension regulations of AirForce. The judges also remarked that all these regulations are not constitution mandates and these are decided only by the authorities. The judges also pointed out that the section 125 Crpc is totally different and doesn’t have any relevance in this scenario
CURRENT STATUS OF THE CASE
The court decided that no one can deprive a person from receiving a pension in the name of such technical definitions.The definition of mother cannot be considered in a narrow sense, it is a wide term and it is not something that can be shortened. So the IAF must reconsider the matter regarding the family pension of the appellant and also reconsider and structure a broad definition regarding the definition of mother that excludes step mother in receiving family pension.
CONCLUSION
As per the records the court hasn’t come into final decision or verdict. Pension always depicts the social welfare of the people in return for their services. It must be considered in a human approach and in a liberal way and not in a technical approach.
AUTHOR DETAILS:
Aswathy S Menon, a law graduate from Mar Gregorios College of Law, Thiruvananthapuram, and Practicing as a lawyer at High Court of Kerala with over two years of experience in litigation, compliance, and legal research. She has contributed to legal content writing and worked on civil, criminal, and corporate matters, with particular interests in corporate governance, contract law, and dispute resolution.