The Kerala High Court has ordered to sanction extraordinary family pension to the wife of a CRPF constable who died due to drowning while on duty in the Naxal-affected areas at Bijapur in Chhattisgarh.The court passed the order recently while allowing a writ petition filed by Linimol from Alappuzha challenging the refusal of the authorities to pay her extraordinary family pension. The petitioner’s claim for extraordinary family pension was rejected on the ground that as per the Court Of Inquiry (COI), the petitioner’s husband drowned in a pond during the Holi celebration as he was in an inebriated condition.The High Court observed that there was no finding either in the COI or post-mortem report or in the forensic science lab report to suggest that the husband of the petitioner was in an inebriated condition. The rejection of her claim for extraordinary family pension was not supported by any material that was before them. The petitioner was entitled to an extraordinary family pension under the provisions of Central Civil Service (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, the court held.Published - February 26, 2025 06:58 pm IST