Legal Question in Family Law in
Dear Sir/Madam.
My father married my mother in 1951 before the Hindu marriage act 1955 came into force (because the first wife of my father often used to desert not only him but her children also and wandering for days and months) and lived together nearly 56 years. At the time of his retirement in 1984, he declared us (my mother and me including my brother and sister) as his legal heirs to receive the family pension cum pensionary benefits after his death. In 2006, on the advice of the bank officers he gave them a requisition letter that his account should be transferred to the name of my mother after his death. In the month of May 2007 he wrote a �WILL� and registered it. He said in that �WILL� that the family pension and all the pensionary benefits should be given only to my mother and the benefits should not go to his first wife at any cause because she has no competence and qualification to get them and he added that his first wife and her family should not be allowed even to see his body after his death because he gave best education and best position to all her children when compared with us but the return is they were troubling him till his last breath. He died in Aug 21 2007 and my mother applied for pension and it was granted to her. She has been receiving the pension every month from 2007. The first wife of my father filed a case against my mother and asking to announce her as my father�s only one legal heir to get the family pension in 2008. Like my father my mother is also not willing to share it with her who never did her duties to my father as a wife and who never did her duties to her children too as a mother and who also damaged the status of her husband with her worst characters. I recently heard that the supreme court of India gave a judgment totally in favor of the second wife of a deceased government servant. Her marriage took place after the Hindu marriage act 1955 and the first wife is also still alive and there is no divorce between the first wife and her husband, yet �All the benefits that are available for a widow should be given to the second wife because 1. The children of the first wife are major or settled 2. The second wife has lived with him for a long time till his death, she is a person of confidence for her husband and first of all, she supported and protected him in his old age� Is it true? If it is so, could you give me the details of the case or the judgment copy of pdf file if it is available?
What is the position of my mother in the view of law?
Will her current position be confirmed by the court?
What are the laws that are in favor of her?
I say advanced thanks to you for your help. If we get your valuable help or advice or any proceedings related with this case within one or two days it will be more useful to us to face the hearing that comes in this week.
Thank you Sir/Madam.
Yours sincerely,
C.Govindarasan.
1 Answer from Attorneys
supreme court law would need to be looked into which may not be possible in a day or two. However, the most important of all is the will which has been executed by your father in favour of your mother. this will is the last document showing the intention of the father and specially excluding his first wife.