Law: Constitution of Pakistan

Section: 25

(a) Oil and Gas Development Corporation Pension and Gratuity Regulations, 1985 Regln. 22(1)(c) & (d)---Family pension---Unmarried and widowed daughters---Entitlement---Petitioner was the divorced daughter of a retired employee of respondent / company---Grievance of petitioner was that the respondent / company had denied her family pension after the death of her father---Validity---Family pension system is designed to provide continued financial support to legal dependents of a deceased employee---Primary objective of family pension is rooted in the principles of social welfare and economic protection, ensuring that those who were financially dependent on deceased during his lifetime are not left in hardship or destitution after his demise---Interpreting pension laws, Courts must be guided by such broader social and economic purpose, eschewing a narrow or overly technical approach especially in situations, where an apparent limited scope of a particular provision of law may result in a situation that may defeat the very purpose of that law---Pension is not a gratuitous benefit or an act of charity; it is a rightful and earned entitlement, representing deferred remuneration for services rendered by the employee, which becomes payable upon retirement or death---Language of Regln. 22 of Oil and Gas Development Corporation Pension and Gratuity Regulations, 1985 must be construed in a manner that ensures equitable extension of benefits to all children, irrespective of marital status---Divorced daughter, having reverted to an unmarried status upon dissolution of her marriage, falls within the ambit of unmarried daughter and cannot be excluded solely on the basis of her prior marital status---Letter issued by respondent / company was fraught with legal and Constitutional infirmities by purporting to interpret and restrict the scope of Regln. 22 of Oil and Gas Development Corporation Pension and Gratuity Regulations, 1985---Respondent / company through letter in question engaged in an unauthorized executive act that had effectively amended Oil and Gas Development Corporation Pension and Gratuity Regulations, 1985 by administrative authorization, exceeding its lawful…