SONUTAI ALIAS SONABAI Vs. SECRETARY GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THESE two miscellaneous appeals under Section 104 r/w Order XLIII Rule l(u) of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 [CPC], are by the plaintiff in O.S. No. 115 of 2001, on the file of Civil Judge (Sr Dn), Chikkodi, a person, who is the widow of late Tukaram Patil, who had served as a soldier in the Indian Army and who had passed away on 29-10-1996 and whereupon the plaintiff, who had been granted family pension initially by the accounts department of the defence services of government of India, but such pension had come to be cancelled as per the order dated 8-7-1989 at the behest of fifth defendant in the suit and because of which, the plaintiff, after going through a couple of other procedures and fora, had approached the Court for a declaration of her status as widow of the deceased former soldier and the suit, on contest by the defendants - first defendant Government of India, second defendant Deputy Commissioner, Belgaum, third defendant the Record Officer of Maratha Light Infantry, fourth defendant the officer of the Controller of Defence Accounts and one Smt. Savubai @ Savithribai, who had competed with the plaintiff to claim the status of the wife of deceased soldier during his life time and widow after his death, as fifth defendant, and notwithstanding the first defendant having set up a plea of want of jurisdiction in the Court, the Trial Court having decreed the suit as sought for by the plaintiff, but that decree having been set aside by the lower appellate Court in appeals preferred by the first defendant and the fifth defendant in two different appeals, but the matter having been remanded to the Trial Court for fresh consideration including the question of maintainability of the suit, aggrieved plaintiff is in appeal before this Court challenging the remand order.

(2.) APPEALS had been admitted for examination on 28-1-2011 and stay of the remand orders has been continued from time to time.

(3.) A few facts leading to the above appeals are that the plaintiff's husband one Tukaram Patil had joined the then Indian army in the year 1942 and he retired from service on 11-10-1959. During his life time, said Tukaram Patil had nominated his wife, the present plaintiff, for receiving family pension after his demise and also for receiving other pensionary benefits.