Delhi High Court dismisses second wife’s claim to family pension under Pension Regulations for the Army, 1961.

Key facts

• Delhi High Court Division Bench of Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora ruled that a void second marriage does not become valid after the first wife’s death.
• The Court held that family pension under Pension Regulations for the Army, 1961 is payable only to the legally wedded widow.
• The petitioner had married Late Sepoy Udey Singh between 1970 and 1980 while his first wife Smt. Satwati Devi was alive, rendering the marriage void under Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
• The first wife Smt. Satwati Devi died on 13.05.2012, but the Court held that her death does not validate the petitioner’s void marriage.
• The Armed Forces Tribunal (AFT) Principal Bench had earlier rejected the petitioner’s family pension claim through order dated 27.11.2025.
• The Court distinguished the Supreme Court’s Shriramabai judgment, noting that in the present case the first marriage was never dissolved by divorce.
• The Court confirmed that children from the void marriage were once eligible for family pension but are no longer eligible as they are now adults and married.
• The writ petition W.P.(C) 2333/2026 was dismissed by the Delhi High Court on 18.02.2026.