In a clear message on pension rules and marriage law, the Madras High Court on January 27, 2026, ruled that a government pensioner’s second wife cannot be added as a nominee for family pension when the marriage took place during the lifetime of the first wife. The Division Bench set aside an earlier order that had favoured the pensioner and allowed the appeal filed by the Accountant General of Tamil Nadu.
Background of the Case
The case began with M. Radhakrishnan, a retired Block Development Officer, who superannuated in July 2007 and has been receiving pension since then. While his first wife, Vasantha, was alive, he married Revathy in May 1992. Years later, in April 2009, he applied to include both wives as nominees in his Pension Payment Order so that both could receive family pension.
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The request moved from the Block Development Officer to the District Collector and then to the Accountant General. In July 2009, the Accountant General rejected it. Radhakrishnan challenged that decision in a writ petition. After his first wife died in August 2020, he renewed the claim, arguing that there was now “no impediment” to include the second wife’s name. The single judge accepted this view and allowed the petition, relying on an earlier decision that leaned towards a “presumption of marriage.”
Unhappy with that outcome, the Accountant General took the matter in appeal before the Division Bench.
Court’s Observations
Hearing the appeal, the Bench of Justice S.M. Subramaniam and Justice C. Kumarappan focused on the Tamil Nadu Pension Rules and the Government Servants Conduct Rules. The judges noted that the facts were not in dispute: the second marriage was solemnised while the first wife was still alive. That, the court said, amounted to bigamy and made the second marriage “null and void” under the service rules.
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The court walked through Rule 49 of the Pension Rules, which deals with family pension, and the explanation that allows benefits to a second wife only in very limited situations such as marriages valid under certain customary or personal laws. It also referred to Rule 19 of the Conduct Rules, which bars a government servant from contracting a second marriage during the lifetime of a spouse, calling such conduct misconduct.
Quoting a Supreme Court precedent, the Bench reminded that “normally, pension is given to the legally wedded wife of a deceased employee,” and that a marriage entered into while the first spouse is alive does not gain legal status simply because time has passed or circumstances have changed.
Importantly, the judges rejected the argument that the death of the first wife in 2020 could cure the defect.
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“Death of the first wife would not provide a ground to claim family pension by the second wife, since the second marriage is void,” the court observed in substance while disagreeing with the single judge’s approach.
Decision
After reviewing the rules and the undisputed facts, the Division Bench concluded that the earlier writ order was not in line with the pension rules. It set aside the November 2, 2021 order and allowed the writ appeal filed by the Accountant General. No costs were awarded, and the connected petition was closed.
With this, the court firmly held that the second wife’s name cannot be included as a nominee for family pension in such circumstances.
Case Title:- The Accountant General, Tamil Nadu vs M. Radhakrishnan & Another
Case Number:- Writ Appeal (WA) No. 1072 of 2022
Date of Judgment:- 27 January 2026
