Widow of a BSF constable sought Seema Prahari Beema Yojna insurance, ex-gratia and extraordinary pension benefits, contending his 2005 death from malignant glioma was attributable to a 2004 duty accident. The Court found the contention speculative, unsupported by documents, and barred by delay and disputed facts.
This page shows the compact analysis of this judgement. The full analysis — procedural history, issue-by-issue holdings with ratio and obiter, advocates, and paragraph-level evidence for every claim — is being added to the record in batches and will appear here when this judgement has been through it.
$~75
Through: Mr. Keshav Pratap Singh, Mr. Karamjeet Yadav, Advs.
versus
UNION OF INDIA AND ANR. .....Respondents Through: Mr Jagdish Chandra CGSC, Ms Aishwarya Sinha, GP Mr Sujeet Kumar Choudhary, Ms Maanya Saxena, Adv.
CORAM:
HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE V. KAMESWAR RAO HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA
MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA, J. ( ORAL )
CM APPL. 11503/2026 (Exemption)
W.P.(C) 2369/2026
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W.P.(C) 2369/2026 Page 1 of 6
Director General of Border Security Force, letter dated 22.05.2017 of Deputy Commandant of 27 BN, Border Security Force, and to process the claims of the petitioner for grant of claim under Seema Prahari Beema Yojna-LIC [‘SPBY’]; liberalised family pension/extraordinary pension; and ex-gratia lump-sum compensation.
4.2. In October 2004, while posted at BOP Sukhnagar (Ex ‘E’ Coy), 27 BN BSF, Naryanpur, Malda (West Bengal), the deceased sustained severe injuries when a tree collapsed on him while returning from Naka Duty, during the course of official duty.
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W.P.(C) 2369/2026 Page 2 of 6
to his hometown, where he obtained specialised treatment at SMS Hospital, Jaipur. On 07.02.2005, he underwent a major neurosurgical procedure, namely fronto-parietal-temporal craniotomy with left temporal lobectomy and tumoral decompression.
4.7. It is stated that the deceased was admitted to the BSF medical facility at R.K. Puram. The Petitioner was informed telegraphically on 07.07.2005 that the deceased had expired on 06.07.2005, the cause of death being recorded as Malignant Glioma with Fracture Tibia.
4.8. It is the Petitioner’s case that no Court of Inquiry [‘COI’] was conducted by the Respondents, which is mandatory under Rule 174(2) of the BSF Rules,1969 to determine whether the death of was attributable to or aggravated by service conditions.
4.9. The Respondents, however, opined that the death of the deceased was not attributable to service and rejected the Petitioner’s claims for consequential financial benefits.
4.10. It is contended that the Respondents’ own impugned communication dated 22.05.2017 records that the accident dated 06.10.2004 might have accelerated the cause of death, thereby rendering the issue of attributability inconclusive.
4.11. It is respectfully submitted that the impugned letters are legally unsustainable in denying the Petitioner the benefits under SPBY–LIC (now Golden Jubilee Seema Prahari Kalyan Kawach), ex-gratia lump-sum compensation, and Liberalised Family Pension/Extraordinary Pension. The admitted factual position is that the deceased sustained grievous injuries when a tree collapsed upon him while returning from Naka Duty, i.e., during the course of official duty, thereby squarely attracting Category–II of the
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W.P.(C) 2369/2026 Page 3 of 6
SPBY scheme. The rejection of the insurance claim, therefore, proceeds on an erroneous appreciation of both facts and scheme provisions.
4.12. Further, the accident dated 06.10.2004 led to serious neurological complications, as evidenced by the diagnosis of ring lesions and subsequent major neurosurgery (fronto-parietal-temporal craniotomy with left temporal lobectomy and tumoral decompression) on 07.02.2005, after which the deceased ultimately succumbed on 06.07.2005. The medical chain clearly establishes a direct nexus between the duty-related accident and the death, entitling the Petitioner to ex gratia compensation in terms of DoP&PW O.M Nos. dated 11.09.1998 and 02.09.2008 and Government letter dated 21.04.2011.
4.13. The denial of Liberalised Family Pension/Extraordinary Pension is equally arbitrary, as the death falls within Categories B and C of Schedule II of the CCS (Extraordinary Pension) Rules, 1939, being attributable to and aggravated by service conditions.
4.14. In the aforesaid circumstances, the Petitioner contends that in the absence of a duly conducted COI and in view of the deceased being medically fit at the time of recruitment and having sustained injuries during the course of duty, the rejection of the claim on the ground of nonattributability is arbitrary, inconclusive, and contrary to the applicable BSF Rules and settled principles governing service-related death benefits.
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W.P.(C) 2369/2026 Page 4 of 6
the record.
Infact, the petitioner has placed on record the telegram received on 07.07.2005 informing the next of kin about the death of the deceased at Safdarjung Hospital due to Malignant Glioma (cancer). The petitioner was thus, duly notified about the stated cause of death way back in 2005.
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suffered in October 2004, is based on speculation and not substantiated by any documents on record. The petitioner has no personal knowledge forming basis of the said allegation and has raised this claim on speculative basis. The petition therefore, seeks to raise the disputed questions of fact, which after 21 years would be impossible to determine in the writ proceedings.
MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA, J
V. KAMESWAR RAO, J
FEBRUARY 19, 2026/AJ
Signature Not Verified
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W.P.(C) 2369/2026 Page 6 of 6
1 issue framed by the court
Whether the widow was entitled to SPBY insurance claim, ex-gratia compensation and liberalised family pension on the ground that the BSF constable's death in 2005 was attributable to duty injuries sus
4 provisions across 3 enactments
BANARSI DEVI
UNION OF INDIA
V. KAMESWAR RAO
MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA
As recorded by the court registry
A petition under Article 226 of the Constitution asking a High Court to issue a writ against the State or a public authority in a civil matter.
Judgements on the same questions, provisions and authorities, from every court
