Legitimacy under Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act does not create a right to compassionate appointment beyond statutory family rules.

A child born from a void second marriage is treated as legitimate under Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, but that protection is limited and does not validate the marriage or enlarge the mother's legal status. The statutory restriction in Section 16(3) also confines the child's rights to property of the parents and does not extend to other benefits. Compassionate appointment is a statutory family benefit, not a property right, so entitlement depends on the governing service rules. A person outside the statutory definition of family cannot claim that benefit, and a private settlement cannot create a right that the rules do not confer.

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Issues: Whether a child born from a void second marriage is entitled to compassionate appointment under the dependent-family rules, and whether the settlement between the parties could confer such entitlement.

Analysis: A marriage contracted during the subsistence of a prior valid marriage is void under Section 11 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 as being in contravention of Section 5(i). Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 protects the legitimacy of a child born of such void marriage, but the protection is limited. It does not validate the marriage or confer status on the mother, and subsection (3) restricts the child's rights to the property of persons other than the parents. Compassionate appointment is not a right in property, but a statutory benefit available to the family of the deceased employee. The mother from a void marriage is not within the definition of family, and rights under the statutory rules cannot be enlarged by compromise or settlement between private parties.

Conclusion: The child was not entitled to compassionate appointment, and the settlement could not create such a right.

Ratio Decidendi: Legitimacy under Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 does not confer a right to compassionate appointment where the claimant is outside the statutory definition of family and the claimed benefit cannot be created by private compromise.

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