Case Details Smt. Shiramabai W/O Pundalik Bhave and Others vs The Captain, Record Officer for O.I.C. Records, Sena Corps Abhilekh, Gaya, Bihar State and Anr.

Court

Supreme Court of India

Date

18 August 2023

Case No.

Civil Appeal No. 5262 of 2023

Result

Allowed

Bench

Hima Kohli, Rajesh Bindal

Citation

[2023] 11 S.C.R. 130 : 2023 INSC 744

Issue for consideration

Whether the order passed by the High Court denying the appellants-mother and her children, the entitlement to receive the pension payable on the demise of her husband-military personnel is sustainable, where the military personnel contracted a marriage with the appellant and two children born from their relationship, during subsistence of his marriage with the legally wedded wife but, subsequently a decree of divorce was passed, dissolving the said marriage and meanwhile, the military personnel was discharged from service and granted service pension. Service law : Pensionary benefits – Family pension – Claim of, by woman cohabiting as wife with a government personnel – Denial of claim of family pension to the applicant and her children by the High Court – Sustainability of:

Headnote

Held : Not sustainable – Presumption ought to have been drawn in favour of the validity of the marriage between the deceased and the applicant – More so, when during his life time, the military personnel sought deletion of the name of his previous wife from his service record and endorsement of the name of the applicant, which was duly acted upon by the authorities – Also the ex-wife did not claim any family pension from the authorities – Furthermore, two children born to the applicant, have been held entitled to the estate of the military personnel by the High Court – Thus, the applicant entitled to receive the pension payable on the demise of the military personnel – Children entitled to the said relief till the age of 25 years – Order passed by the High Court set aside – Pension Regulation for the Army, 1961 – reg 219(iii). [Paras 11, 16, 20 and 21, 22] Service law: Pensionary benefits – Family pension – Claim of, by the woman cohabiting as wife with a government personnel: Held : If a man and woman cohabit as husband and wife for a long duration, there is a presumption in their favour that they were living together as a consequence of a valid marriage and claimant would be entitled to family pension. [Paras 11 and 21]

Evidence Act, 1872 – s. 114 – Court may presume existence of certain facts – Man and woman cohabiting as husband and wife for a long duration – Presumption u/s. 114:

Held : There would be a presumption in favour of a marriage when man and woman have continuously cohabited for a long spell – However, the presumption is rebuttable and can be rebutted by leading unimpeachable evidence – When there is any circumstance that weakens such a presumption, courts ought not to ignore the same – Burden lies heavily on the party who seeks to question the cohabitation and to deprive the relationship of a legal sanctity. [Para 20]

LIST OF CITATIONS AND OTHER REFERENCES

[2023]COURT 11 S.C.R. 130 : 2023 INSC 744 SUPREME CASE DETAILS SMT. SHIRAMABAI W/O PUNDALIK BHAVE AND OTHERS v. THE CAPTAIN, RECORD OFFICER FOR O.I.C. RECORDS, SENA CORPS ABHILEKH, GAYA, BIHAR STATE AND ANR. (Civil Appeal No. 5262 of 2023) AUGUST 18, 2023 [HIMA KOHLI AND RAJESH BINDAL, JJ.] HEADNOTES Issue for consideration : Whether the order passed by the High Court denying the appellants-mother and her children, the entitlement to receive the pension payable on the demise of her husband-military personnel is sustainable, where the military personnel contracted a marriage with t

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