The Madhya Pradesh High Court has rejected a petition on the grounds that the second wife of a government employee cannot receive a family pension if the employee entered into the second marriage without obtaining a divorce from the first wife and without seeking prior permission from the State Government, as per the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Conduct) Rules of 1965.
A woman had filed a petition challenging the rejection of her claim for a family pension after her husband’s death by the Superintendent of Police Mandla. However, the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s Single bench led by Justice Vivek Agrawal dismissed the plea.
The petitioner’s Advocate Arun Kumar Singh had argued that the deceased husband had divorced his first wife, and she had sworn an affidavit to that effect before a notary public. On the other hand, the respondent’s counsel, Advocate Manas Mani Verma, contended that the petitioner’s conduct violated the Madhya Pradesh Civil Services (Conduct) Rules of 1965, which prohibits maintaining two wives, and thus she was not entitled to the family pension.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court referred to Rule 22 of the M.P. Civil Services (Conduct) Rules and stated that no government employee is allowed to enter into a second marriage without the government’s prior permission, regardless of their personal laws.
Justice Vivek Agarwal, who presided over the case, opined that the petitioner’s claim that she was entitled to a family pension as the second wife was not valid because contracting a second marriage was itself a misconduct as per the Conduct Rules of 1965. Therefore, the order denying the family pension to the petitioner cannot be deemed illegal or arbitrary when examined in the light of the Conduct Rules, as it was a well-reasoned order explaining why the petitioner, who claims to be the second wife, was not eligible for the family pension.
The Madhya Pradesh High Court concluded that the petitioner’s claim as the second wife was not legally valid, and the order denying her the family pension was not unlawful or unjustified. The court further noted that the order was well-reasoned and provided adequate explanations for the denial of the pension. Consequently, the court dismissed the petitioner’s plea.
Source: https://lawtrend.in/second-wife-of-government-employee-not-entitled-to-pension-if-marriage-occurred-during-subsistence-of-first-marriage-mp-high-court/