One man, 2 wives… tension over pension after death, then SC showed its power and…

New Delhi. The Supreme Court has made it clear many times that polygamy is a serious crime and marrying a second time while the first wife is alive is illegal. But now the Supreme Court has ordered to give pension to the second wife in a case where the woman had married the husband while his first wife was alive.

A bench of Justice Sanjiv Khanna, Justice Sanjay Kumar and Justice R. Mahadevan, exercising its special powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, has granted relief to a woman who had approached the court after being denied pension after her husband’s death. The woman’s husband worked in South Eastern Coal Fields Limited and passed away in 2001. The woman had to fight a legal battle for nearly 23 years to get her husband’s pension.

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According to the Times of India report, the bench said in its order that there was no dispute over the woman’s status as a ‘wife’. She was not being given pension only on the basis that she had married her husband while his first wife was alive and all three were living together.

What did the Supreme Court say?
The court said that this case is very unusual. In such a situation, the woman is being given relief using its extraordinary rights to do complete justice. The court said in its decision, ‘In this case, Jai Narayan Maharaj and Radha Devi were living together and taking care of each other since the death of Ram Sawari Devi (first wife) on 20 April 1984. Radha Devi should not be denied ‘wife status’ at this age, which entitles her to receive family pension. This will help her live with dignity and help financially.

The court said, ‘In view of this situation, we exercise our power under Article 142 of the Constitution and direct that Radha Devi be paid family pension from January 1, 2010 till today on or before December 31. Radha Devi will get family pension till her death.’

Let us tell you that Jai Narayan Maharaj worked in South Eastern Coalfields Limited and retired in 1983. His first wife died in 1984 and he died in 2001. After this, his second wife applied for pension, which was rejected by the company. The High Court also refused to give relief to the woman.

Pension Scheme, Supreme Court