The Allahabad High Court has directed the Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University to take a decision within two months on payment of pension to the first wife of a Muslim employee who has married three times.
A Single Bench of Justice Prakash Padia passed this order while hearing a petition filed by Sultana Begum.
The petitioner has preferred the petition inter-alia with the following prayer:-
“(a) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of Certiorari to quash the letter 04.07.2024 passed by Respondent No 2 (The Assistant Finance Officer, Aligarh Muslim University, District Aligarh).
(b) Issue a writ, order or direction in the nature of mandamus commanding and directing the Respondent No 1 (The Vice Chancellor Aligarh, Muslim University, District Aligarh) to decide the Appeal dated 09.09.2024 alongwith the Reminder application dated 21.09.2024 in prescribed period and further pleased to provide the family pension in favour of the applicant in light of the judgment Full Bench Case Must Junufa Bibi Vs Mustt Padma Begum decided by the Gauhati High Court.”
The Order dated 04.07.2024 passed by the Assistant Finance Officer, Aligarh Muslim University, District Aligarh is under challenge in the petition.
In the aforesaid order, there is a reference to Office Memo dated 13.08.2022. In Spite of the repeated query made by the Court regarding the copy of the office memo on the basis of which impugned order has been passed, no proper response has been given.
A prayer has been made by the counsel for the petitioner that he is not pressing the prayer no 1 and confined his prayer to prayer no 2 in which a prayer has been made to direct the Respondent No 1 namely Vice Chancellor Aligarh, Muslim University, District – Aligarh to decide the aforesaid Appeal dated 09.09.2024.
On the other hand, it is argued by Shashank Shekhar Singh, counsel for the University, that against the order impugned no appeal will lie and only representations were lie against the University as per Aligarh Muslim University Act, 1920.
With the consent of the counsel for the parties, the Court disposed of the petition, directing the Respondent No 1 namely Vice Chancellor Aligarh, Muslim University, District – Aligarh to treat the Appeal of the petitioner as representation as per Section 36-B of Aligarh Muslim University, Act, 1920 and decide the same, most expeditiously and preferably within a period of two months.