Cuttack: The Orissa high court has ruled that a transgender has a right to family pension as per the Supreme Court order and directed the authorities to pay it to a transgender of Odisha’s Rayagada district.
As per the case, one Kantaro Kondagari of Rayagada had applied for family pension, after the death of her mother and father, who was a government employee in the rural development department. After the death of her father, Balaji Kondagiri, her mother Binjama was getting family pension. Binjama died of age-related ailments on July 17, 2020.
Kantaro, who is unmarried, was deprived of the family pension. After she applied for it, the competent authority sanctioned it on June 29 last year. But, the principal accountant general (A&E), Odisha, did not take any step for disbursal of the family pension in her favour.
Kantaro filed a petition in the high court seeking its intervention for sanction of the family pension to her. While allowing it, single-judge bench of Justice AK Mohapatra said the petitioner, as a transgender, has every right to choose her gender. “Such right has been recognised and legalised by the Supreme Court,” TOI quoted Justice Mohapatra as stating in his May 20 order.
Kantaro is a transgender person as per the certificate issued by the district magistrate under the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Rules, 2020.
Justice Mohapatra directed the principal accountant general (A&E), Odisha, to process Kantaro’s application for family pension as expeditiously as possible, preferably within six weeks and disburse it to her after calculating the dues.
