Whether the second wife of a Government servant is entitled to receive pension as a widow of the employee after the death of the employee------

The Madhya Pradesh High Court has recently given a judgment which states that if the second marriage is solemnized without divorce from the first wife and without prior permission from the state government,So the second wife of the Government servant is not entitled to family pension.                                                                           The court was hearing a case in which Superintendent of Police Mandla had rejected the claim of a government servant to receive family pension by his second wife after his death.The woman approached the High Court after the Superintendent of Police rejected her claim to receive family pension.                                                                                     As per the case, the petitioner woman claimed that she was the wife of deceased government servant Uttam Singh Maravi.and is entitled to receive the family pension admissible to the Government servant.Superintendent of Police, Mandla checked the records of the employee and found out that the name of the wife of the deceased employee is Rain Kumari whereas the name of this woman isBatasiya Marawi, so he rejected the application of the woman.                                                        During the court hearing, the woman argued that her late husband had divorced his first wife as per tribal customs and traditions.For the last 15 years, her late husband had no relation with his first wife, both were living separately.,So first wife has no legal right to get pension.The petitioner also submitted an affidavit made before a notary to confirm the divorce.                                                        The state government, on the other hand, argued that an affidavit made before a notary is not proof of divorce from the first wife.The state government also said that according to the State Civil Service Conduct Rules 1965, a government servant does not have the right to have two wives.                                                          A single judge bench of Justice Vivek Aggarwal, after hearing the arguments of both the sides, said that Notwithstanding the provision in the personal law, no government servant can marry again without obtaining the permission of the state government.The court noted that the petitioner has not produced any evidence of obtaining official permission from the state government to establish that the deceased employee's second marriage was permitted by the state government.Therefore, the petitioner cannot legally get family pension as the second wife of the deceased employee because petitioner has failed to establish that the deceased Uttam Singh Maravi had divorced his first wife, Rain Kumari.In the affidavit submitted by the petitioner in the court regarding divorce, the name of the affidavit is written as Renu Kumari.While the name of the first wife of the deceased is mentioned as Rain Kumari in the official records, the affidavit submitted by the petitioner raises doubts.                                                              The court dismissed the petition filed by the petitioner, stating that the order of the Superintendent of Police, Mandla, when drawn from the point of law, cannot be said to be illegal or arbitrary .