https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=155287 The SC held that, in a dispute over family pension and death-cum-retirement gratuity, the State may conduct a bona fide and reasonable inquiry to identify the rightful claimant and need not wait for a civil court declaration, provided the inquiry is not arbitrary. It further held that children born from a marriage void under the Hindu Marriage Act remain legitimate under Section 16 and may share pensionary and gratuity benefits as lawful heirs. The woman in the void union, however, acquired no independent status as widow. The claim of the children was upheld and the first wife's challenge failed. en-us Thu, 27 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0530 Tue, 09 Jan 2018 10:26:00 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=155287 The SC held that, in a dispute over family pension and death-cum-retirement gratuity, the State may conduct a bona fide and reasonable inquiry to identify the rightful claimant and need not wait for a civil court declaration, provided the inquiry is not arbitrary. It further held that children born from a marriage void under the Hindu Marriage Act remain legitimate under Section 16 and may share pensionary and gratuity benefits as lawful heirs. The woman in the void union, however, acquired no independent status as widow. The claim of the children was upheld and the first wife's challenge failed. Case-Laws Indian Laws Thu, 27 Jan 2000 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=155287