Smt. Ira Chattopadhyay (Nee Das) vs The Oriental Insurance Company ...
2022 Latest Caselaw 344 Cal

07.02.2022            IN THE HIGH COURT AT CALCUTTA
Sl. No.11            CONSTITUTIONAL WRIT JURISDICTION
   (PP)                     APPELLATE SIDE
                         (Via Video Conference)

                         WPA 18984 of 2021

                    Smt. Ira Chattopadhyay (nee Das)
                                Vs.
             The Oriental Insurance Company Limited & Ors.


                  Mr. Dwaipayan Banerjee,
                  Mr. Abir Das
                                            ....for the petitioner.
                  Mr. Ranjay De,
                  Mr. Basabjit Banerjee
                                ....for the respondent nos.1 & 2.

Ms. Supriya Dubey, Mr. Debolina Chakraborty ....for IRDA.

Mr. Swapan Banerjee, Mr. Kunal Ganguli, Mr. Tirupati Mukherjee ....for the respondent nos.5 & 6.

The petitioner claims to be the wife of Subir

Kumar Chattopadhyay, a former employee of the

Oriental Insurance Company Limited, respondent

no.1. It appears from the document produced by the

Oriental Insurance Company Limited that in the

service book, the employee had nominated one

Saptaparni Chattopadhyay. In the said declaration,

the employee has stated that Saptaparni is his

daughter. The petitioner had also declared himself to

be a widower and such declarations were given on

28th December, 2017. As per the declaration as on

28th december, 2017, the age of Saptaparni was about

14 years. Initially Saptaparni was not a party.

Considering that Saptaparni was a minor in

2017, this Court directed the petitioner to add

Saptaparni Chattopadhyay and her guardian, Anita

Chakraborty as parties to the writ petition. The

petitioner has added Saptaparni Chattopadhyay and

Anita Chakraborty as respondent nos.5 and 6. The

said added respondent nos.5 and 6 are represented.

The petitioner is required to establish the validity of

her marriage before a competent court of law prior to

ventilating her grievances relating to non-payment of

family pension to the petitioner.

The issue, regarding the entitlement of family

pension and retiral benefits of a deceased employee

vis-à-vis his first and second wife, has been

considered in a recent judgment of this Court

delivered on 22nd December, 2021 in WPA 15977 of

2021 (Chayna Saha @ Saha Chayna Vs. The State of

West Bengal & Ors.). In that case, the parties were

relegated before a competent forum for establishing

the validity of marriage.

In the instant case, from declaration given by the

petitioner, it appears that he was married and his

wife appears had passed for which the petitioner has

declared himself to a widower on 28th December,

2017. Saptaparni Chattopadhyay may be the

daughter born out of the wedlock between the

petitioner with his deceased wife. Although there is

nothing on record from either side, but it may be so

that Subir Kumar Chattopadhyay since deceased had

married the petitioner after the death of his first wife.

The validity of petitioner's marriage is very much

dependent as to whether the petitioner was at all

married to Subir Kumar Chattopadhyay, and if so,

when did the marriage take place, i.e., before the

death or after the death of the other wife of Subir

Kumar Chattopadhyay. The petitioner, however,

claims that Saptaparni Chattopadhyay is the adopted

child of Subir Kumar Chattopadhyay.

On behalf of the added respondent nos.5 and 6,

it is submitted that Saptaparni Chattopadhyay is now

a major. The date of birth of Saptaparni as per the

Aadhar Card is 24th February, 2004, and as such she

is few days short of attaining 18 years of age as on

date. The photocopy of the Aadhar Card and the PAN

Card made over to Court is retained with the record.

These factual issues as regards the validity of

marriage cannot be gone into by a writ Court.

In the aforesaid facts and circumstances, the

petitioner is directed to approach the competent civil

court by making Saptaparni Chattopadhyay and the

Oriental Insurance Company Limited as parties to

such proceeding.

Apart from the service of summons as required

after filing of a case before a competent civil court, the

petitioner, on institution of a case before the

competent court, shall inform Saptaparni

Chattopadhyay and the Oriental Insurance Company

Limited within 7 days therefrom with the number and

particulars of the case that may be instituted.

Nothing further remains to be adjudicated in

this writ petition. The same is disposed of along with

the connected application without any order as to

costs.

Since I have not called for any affidavits,

allegations made in the writ petition are deemed to

have not been admitted by the respondents.

Urgent photostat certified copy of this order, if

applied for, be given to the parties upon compliance of

necessary formalities.

(Arindam Mukherjee, J.)