2013 (5) TMI 509 - HC - Indian Laws

Grant of family pension - whether a second wife has no legal status to claim family pension? - Held that - The answer to this question is in negative, as the second wife has no legal status. According to Hindu Law, the marriage during living spouse is void, and gives no status to the second wife, though children born from such marriage get benefits at par with the legitimate children. Furthermore, it may be noticed, that family pension is available to the widow of a person during her lifetime, therefore widow will always be the first wife, as there cannot be two widows for a person, as law does not recognize two wives after coming into force of Hindu Marriage Act. Therefore no error with the impugned order, declining family pension to the petitioner. Thus merely because pensionary benefits were settled in favour of petitioner, which in fact were to be paid to the children, who gave no objection for release of retirement benefits to her, cannot entitle her to claim family pension also.

Summary

Issues:
1. Entitlement of the second wife to family pension after the death of the first wife.

Analysis:
The petitioner, as the second wife of the deceased, sought family pension after his demise. The petitioner argued that she had lived with the deceased as his wife after the death of the first wife, who had consented to their marriage. The petitioner contended that she should be considered the legally wedded wife after the death of the first wife, and thus entitled to the family pension. However, the court found that under Hindu Law, a marriage during the existence of a living spouse is void, and the second wife does not hold any legal status. The court noted that even though the first wife had passed away, the second marriage remained void, and the second wife could not claim family pension based on this void marriage.

The court highlighted that the petitioner's status as the second wife did not change to that of a legally wedded wife after the death of the first wife. The court emphasized that the Hindu Marriage Act deems a marriage during the existence of a living spouse as void, and the mere death of the first wife does not validate the second marriage or confer the status of a wife upon the second wife. Additionally, the court pointed out that family pension is available to the widow of a person during her lifetime, and as per the law, there can only be one widow for a person, not two. Therefore, the court concluded that the petitioner, being the second wife, could not claim family pension as the law does not recognize two wives after the enactment of the Hindu Marriage Act.

Moreover, the court noted that there were no children born from the marriage between the deceased and the petitioner. The absence of children further weakened the petitioner's claim to family pension as the legitimate children from a valid marriage are entitled to benefits at par with the legitimate children. The court emphasized that the petitioner being the second wife with no legal status and no children from the marriage could not establish a valid claim for family pension.

In conclusion, the court dismissed the writ petition, ruling that the second wife, lacking legal status under Hindu Law due to the void marriage, was not entitled to family pension. The court held that the impugned order declining the grant of family pension to the petitioner was lawful and not arbitrary. The court highlighted that settling pensionary benefits in favor of the petitioner did not entitle her to claim family pension, especially in the absence of legal recognition of her status as the second wife.