A second wife is ineligible for family pension if the employee’s first marriage was never legally dissolved.

The appellant claimed to be the second wife of Rajendran, a First Grade Assistant Engineer with the Electricity Board.

Rajendran’s first wife, Rani, and their two children were recorded in his service records.

The appellant claimed that Rani had separated from Rajendran and that he had subsequently married her.

The Single Judge dismissed the appellant’s writ petition, and she appealed that order dated 12 November 2025

Whether the appellant, claiming to be the deceased employee’s second wife, was entitled to family pension where his first marriage had not been legally dissolved

Whether the Single Judge’s decision denying the appellant family pension warranted interference in the writ appeal

The Court applied Rule 49 of the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules, 1978, governing family pension, and relied on Accountant General of Tamil Nadu v. M. Radhakrishnan (2026 MHC 388), which it identified as having considered family-pension claims under that Rule

The Court held that, absent a valid dissolution of the first marriage, the subsequent marriage was invalid and the second wife could not claim family pension

Rani was recorded as Rajendran’s legally wedded wife, and the appellant’s claim that the couple had separated did not establish that the first marriage had been legally dissolved.

Because no legal divorce had been obtained, the Court treated the appellant’s marriage to Rajendran as invalid and concluded that she was not entitled to family pension under the applicable Pension Rules.

It found that the Single Judge had correctly reached that conclusion

No costs were awarded