Calcutta High Court (Appellete Side)
Bani Das Roy vs High Court Administration & Ors on 8 August, 2022
Author: Arindam Mukherjee
Bench: Arindam Mukherjee
04
08.08.2022
Ct. No.23
pg.
IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION
APPELLATE SIDE
WPA 7840 of 2022
Bani Das Roy
Vs.
High Court Administration & Ors.
Mr. Supratic Roy
Mr. R. Dutta
Mr. Sarbajit Mukherjee
... For the petitioner
Mr. Siddhartha Banerjee
... For High Court Administration
Mr. Ram Mohan Pal
... For the respondent no.4
The service on the added respondent as directed to by the order dated 13th July, 2022 is not complete. The petitioner says that the envelope sent at the address of Swapna Das Roy as indicated in the report filed by the respondent no.4 has come back undelivered. No envelope with the postal endorsement as submitted by the petitioner has, however, been made over to Court.
On behalf of the respondent no.4, the Service Book of Debabrata Bikash Das Roy, the deceased employee, has been produced. A photocopy of the Service Book is retained with the record. It appears from the declaration of family given by Debabrata Bikash Das Roy that his family comprises of Smt. Bani Das Roy and Kumari Baisakhi Das Roy. Bani Das Roy is the petitioner. 2 Baisakhi Das Roy who was a minor daughter as per the declaration given by the deceased employee in his Service Book on 10th June, 1989 is not a party to the proceedings. Kumari Baisakhi Das Roy, with the passage of 33 years in between, must have become a major by this time and has her own independent right, separate from that of the petitioner.
Assuming without admitting that Swapna Das Roy is the wife of Debabrata Bikash Das Roy, then also the year of marriage is 1997 as per her claim in her letter dated 19th June, 2019, being a part of the report filed by the respondent no.4. Swapna Das Roy, therefor, at the highest, can be the second wife of Debabrata Bikash Das Roy when he had declared to be married on 10th June, 1989.
The right of the second wife has been clarified by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in its judgment reported at (2000) 2 SCC 431 (Rameshwari Devi v. State of Bihar & Ors.). The second wife is not entitled to either the family pension or to any share in the retiral benefit as held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Rameshwari Devi (supra). However, any child out of the second wife as held by the Hon'ble Supreme Court in Rameshwari Devi (supra) is entitled to a proportionate share till he/she attains majority or is unable to earn. It is, therefor, only necessary to ascertain whether there is any child born out of the wedlock claimed between Debabrata Bikash Das 3 Roy and Swapna Das Roy. This is necessary as payments, if made, to the petitioner may not pass on to any child out of the second marriage, if there be any.
In the aforesaid facts and circumstances, the matter is adjourned and shall appear in the Combined Monthly List of September, 2022, to enable the petitioner to serve a copy of the writ petition along with a copy of the instant order to the Officer-in-Charge, Dum Dum Police Station, by 16th August, 2022 being the local police station within whose jurisdiction Swapna Das Roy resides so that he can make an endeavour to serve a copy of the writ petition to Swapna Das Roy at her address provided in the report, being Gauri Third Bye Lane, South Dum Dum, Dum Dum, North 24-Parganas, Kolkata - 700065.
The petitioner shall also add Baisakhi Das Roy as a respondent with the details and serve a copy of the writ petition upon her.
The petitioner's advocate is permitted to add Baisakhi Das Roy by amending the cause title.
(Arindam Mukherjee, J.)