Patna (Bihar): In a significant decision, the Patna High Court declared on Friday that the second wife of a deceased person is not entitled to the family pension if his first wife is still alive and the deceased married a second time without the employer's permission.
Justice Harish Kumar of Patna High Court pronounced the order after hearing a plea by Baby Devi, the widow of Nagendra Singh, who was working as a monthly labourer at Bihar Agricultural University, Sabour, Bhagalpur, and died in 2020.
Devi, who is Singh’s second wife, filed a petition demanding an equal share in his pension like his first wife, as proposed by the state finance department.
Order Followed Probe
Opposing the petition of the second wife of Singh, advocates RK Shukla and Pratyush Pratap Singh representing his first wife, Samundar Devi, told the court that she had also been demanding that pension and other benefits be given to her.
Justice Purnendu Singh, while hearing the case in 2023, had ordered the university to ensure whether the employee had taken permission from the university before marrying for the second time or not.
“If it is found that permission for the second marriage has not been taken, then the first wife will be entitled to pension and other benefits,” he said.
University Decision Favoured First Wife
After the court order, the university investigated the entire matter, and in June 2024, the university gave a decision in favour of the first wife based on evidence and considered her entitled to all the benefits.
Meanwhile, the second wife filed a petition before the court and challenged the decision of the university. During the hearing, advocate Shailendra Kumar Singh on behalf of the university told the court that the resolution taken on September 6, 1996, clearly prohibits giving family pensions to the second wife.
‘Children Of Second Wife Entitled To Benefits’
In this case, the court also accepted that the children of the second wife are entitled to proportional benefits, but in this case, both the daughters of Singh from his second wife are already married. In such a situation, the Patna High Court, after considering all the facts, rejected the petition of the second wife regarding pension.
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