(1.) The petitioner is stated to be the legally wedded wife of late Raghavan Ezhuthachan, who retired from the services of the V.V.L.P. High School, Chorottur, in Ottappalam Taluk, as a Headmaster on 30/03/1983.
(2.) The petitioner concedes that her husband had married thrice during his life time, but that, she being the first among them, can only be construed to be the legally wedded wife. She says that when her husband died, she thus became entitled, as his widow, to receive the family pension, but that this has been rejected through Ext.P14 by the Assistant Educational Officer (AEO), merely saying that in an earlier proceeding initiated by her, namely C.C.No.24/72 on the files of the Judicial First Class Magistrate's Court, Ottapalam, it has been recorded that she was divorced by Shri.Raghavan Ezhuthachan.
(3.) The petitioner says that the contents of Ext.P14 are wholly without basis and that the order in C.C.No.24/72 does not record that she and her husband had been divorced, but only that she had proceeded against him alleging the offence of Bigamy. The petitioner, therefore, prays that Ext.P14 be set aside and the AEO be directed to reconsider the matter in terms of law and in particular Sections 41 and 43 of the Indian Evidence Act, which deals with the probative value of orders like the one relied upon by him in Ext.P14.