Bengaluru: In a significant ruling, Karnataka High Court upheld the guidelines of Indian Railway Service rules, which stipulates that one or more wives are entitled to a family pension which has to be shared equally between the wives of the deceased employee.
The high court gave its verdict in a case filed by the second wife of a deceased railway employee who had filed an application in the High Court challenging the order of the family court that ordered the South Western Railway to grant 50% family pension to the first wife and her daughters.
A bench headed by Justice M Nagaprasanna, which heard the petition, said the rights of the employee or his family depend on the pension rules. The Railway Services (Pension) Rules, 1993 were amended in 2016 and the Railway Services (Pension) Amendment Rules came into force. One or more widows are entitled to a family pension as per the rule. The pension is distributed equally to the wives of the deceased employee.
This norm is applicable when a railway employee has more than one wife. The bench said that the petitioner, who is the second wife, is entitled to a 50% pension. Besides, the bench said that there was no need to interfere with the order of the family court in Bengaluru which ordered the release of a 50% pension to the first wife and her two daughters.
The background
The case in point pertains to R Ramesh Babu, who worked as a pointsman in the traffic department in the office of Senior Divisional Personnel Manager of South Western Railway. Babu has three daughters from his first wife. On December 9, 1999, Babu married Pushpa for the second time in Tirupati.
He has a 22-year-old daughter from this relationship. Babu passed away on May 4, 2021, and the first wife sought benefits and pension from the government department where her husband worked. Also, she had submitted a request for compassionate employment for her second daughter.
Meanwhile, no decision was taken to pay the benefits as the second wife had informed that she was entitled to the benefits. However, considering the status of the parties, the South Western Railway Board informed the first wife that she would receive part of the pension money after the order of the family court.
In this context, the first wife approached the family court in Bengaluru and requested that the South Western Railway Board should be directed to provide facilities, compassionate employment and payment of dues as she is legally the first wife.
In addition to this, the second wife submitted a memo. The family court, which heard the matter, directed the Nairutwa Railway Board to pay 50% of the pension to the first wife and her children on July 22, 2022. Questioning this, the second wife approached the High Court.
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