ANITA Vs. RITA

JUDGEMENT

(1.) ONE Shri Jai Rajan Panikar was a civil employee of the Indian Air Force. He had filed a petition for dissolution of his marriage with Smt. Anita (petitioner in both petitions). The said petition was dismissed and he had preferred an appeal to this Court against the order of dismissal of his petition seeking divorce. During the pendency of the appeal before this Court, the said Shri Jai Rajan Panikar died. Smt. Anita applied to the Air Force for release of family pension and other service benefits of the said Shri Jai Rajan Panikar.

(2.) AT that stage, Smt. Rita and her two minor children Prerna and Hardek filed a suit before the Civil Judge claiming that the said Smt. Rita was the wife of Shri Jai Rajan Panikar and the minors Prerna and Hardek were his children and to inter alia restrain Smt. Anita from withdrawing the pensionary and other service benefits of Shri Jai Rajan Panikar. Though an interim order was granted initially in the said suit by the Civil Judge but the application for interim relief was ultimately dismissed. Smt. Rita and her children Prerna and Hardek appealed thereagainst and which appeal was decided and allowed by the Addl. District Judge and which order is subject matter of challenge in W.P.(C) No.5159/2008. The Addl. District Judge held that since the children, claimed to be of the deceased Sh. Jai Rajan Panikar, if so proved, were entitled to the benefit of Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, the pensionary and other benefits could not be permitted to be disbursed till the said question was decided. Accordingly, the Air Force was restrained from releasing the pensionary and other benefits to Smt. Anita.

(3.) THOUGH the counsel for the Smt. Rita and her children Prerna and Hardek has sought adjournment of the matter contending that an application on behalf of the minor children has been filed but which could not be got listed inspite of best efforts, but considering that the matter has been pending for long, need was not felt to adjourn and a copy of the application has been taken from the counsel and placed on record. In the said application direction is claimed to the Air Force to release to the minors the service benefits of the said Shri Jai Rajan Panikar of their share.