The Madras bench of the Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) on
Wednesday upheld Kolkata-based Ordnance Factory Board's order rejecting the
claim for family pension by the 'second wife' of an OFB employee.
The bench of judicial member Justice G
Shanthappa and administrative member R Satapathy said
the decision taken by the respondents, including OFB, in rejecting the claim of
R Devaki, 'second wife' of M Subramaniam, for family pension was right.
The department of pension and pensioners'
welfare, the order said, had clarified that the 'second wife' would not be
entitled to family pension as such a marriage cannot be legally solemnised when
either party has a spouse living at the time. The respondents include OFB
chairman and director-general and general
manager of Cordite Factory in The Nilgiris. "The petitioner (Devika)
cannot ask for inclusion of her name for family pension of M Subramaniam, who
died on March 6, 2012, since she is his illegitimate wife and not entitled for
the relief as prayed for," said Justice Shanthappa.
An employee of the Cordite Factory, Subramaniam
'married' Devika in 1977 when his first wife was alive. When he applied for
pension, he claimed only a single
pension. However, after his first wife's death, Subramaniam made a
representation on September 10, 2010 requesting the authorities to include
Devika in his pension payment order as wife by enclosing the true extract of the
Hindu Marriage Register kept by
the marriage registrar office in Coonoor.
The authorities rejected it saying his 'second
marriage' happened during the life time of his first wife and such a marriage
was invalid. Devika challenged this order before the CAT bench. "Any second
marriage by a Hindu male after the commencement of 1955 Act during the lifetime
of his first wife will be null and have no legal effect. The applicant has not
proved her case," said Justice Shanthappa and dismissed the petition.
Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/chennai