• Right of second wife

My brother an LGGS((Last grade) of Govt.office married a girl in 1981 as per Hindu customs,while living with with another lady who is a co worker of his office On knowing the fact legally married girl left him in few days and stayed with her parents.she never attempted to join him. My brother filed petition for divorce immediately and got ex party separation order in 1990.He married the coworker office to escape from discp.action and lived with her upto 2001,(20years). In 2001 both of them executed a Marriage cancellation Deed and registered in the registrar's office but not approached the Court for divorce. In 2002 a the age of 50 he had started living with another lady aged 45 (original name as per records prior to joining with my brother was Ramubai) after marrying her or not I do not know as we were lost contact with him from 1981.Her name has been changed as Ramadevi without following procedure. He died on 10-4-2017. On hearing I arranged for funeral and set fire as he had left no children in spite of 3 ladies. Enquiry revealed that that he had nominated the third lady for all pensioners benefits terming her as his wife in the records. By utilizing the nomination records now she had approached the Tahsildar, Chengalpattu for Legal Heirship Certificate with the aim of getting share on the ancestral properties of my family. From 1981 to till to his death he never turned up to my native place and not cared my parents and my sister;s family etc. On my objections filed to the Tahsildar, he had refused to issue LHC and directed her to approach the Civil Court . Till today she had not approached the Court. Kindly clarify whether the third lady can be termed as WIFE as per law in the absence of legal separation order from the second wife. Whether the marriage cancellation deed is sufficient for marrying the third lady. Whether the third lady has got right on the ancestral property of my family when there is no child born through 3 ladies, The patta of our land stands jointly in my name and the deceased brother. The course of action to be taken in this regard may be adviced to me early
Asked 6 years ago in Family Law
Religion: Hindu

11 answers received from multiple lawyers

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11 Answers

third lady cnanot be called as his legally wedded wife and would not have any share in his property

2) second ;lady would be his legally wedded wife as no divorce decree has been obtained

3) your brother share in property would be transferred in name of second lady as his legal heir

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94518 Answers
7485 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

approach muncipal corporation to rectify death certificate of your brother to delete name of lady as wife as he never legally married her

mention that second lady was his wife

contact the second lady to apply to regsitrar birth and death in this regard

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94518 Answers
7485 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Section 17 HMA says that any marriage between Hindus is void if on the date of such marriage, either party had a husband or wife living. In your case the third lady is not a legally wedded wife of your brother.

Even your brother had nominated the third lady for all pensioners’ benefits terming her as his wife in the records she has no such right to absorb legally. If the second wife challenge the legality of marriage ,the third lady could not get the pension benefit.

Approach the municipal corporation to rectify death certificate of your brother and delete name of third lady as wife.

Third lady has no legal right over ancestral property.

Ajay N S
Advocate, Ernakulam
4072 Answers
110 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

1.Long cohabitation of a man and woman can make the relationship akin to a marriage and the lady can be considered as his wife provided this is not disproved by anyone.

2.In this case the third lady can very well be considered as his wife .Howeevr in this case your brother did not divorce his second wife.So without divore of 2nd wife the 3rd lady does not have any legal status.

3.Howeevr this is very difficult to prove due to long time gap and lack of papers.Hence this third;ady cna claim his properties on the strength of death certificate.You can challenge it and if you succeed then she would be allowed to inherit his proeprty.

Devajyoti Barman
Advocate, Kolkata
22774 Answers
484 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Hi,

The third one lady cannot be treated as wife of your brother.

She was married to a person who was already married, so their marriage was not valid.

Legally she do not have any kind of share in the property of your brother.

Contact municipality about this and get her name deducted from the death certificate of your brother.

Thank You

Rahul Jatain
Advocate, Rohtak
5365 Answers
4 Consultations

4.8 on 5.0

1) no divorce decree has been passed by court

2) hence second wife can claim share in deceased husband property not withstanding settlement arrived at

3) third lady has no share in ancestral property even if she is mentioned as wife on settlement deed

4) in event she files partition suit take plea that she is not legally wedded wife and not entitled to any share in property

Ajay Sethi
Advocate, Mumbai
94518 Answers
7485 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Third lady is not the legally wedded wife and hence has no share in the property.

Second lady will be the legal heirs and your brother's interest will devolve upon her.

Regards

Anilesh Tewari
Advocate, New Delhi
18077 Answers
377 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

The second lade being the legally wedded wife will have to apply at the municipal corporation for rectification of the death certificate and for removal of the name of the first lady.

Regards

Anilesh Tewari
Advocate, New Delhi
18077 Answers
377 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

Till today she had not approached the Court. Kindly clarify whether the third lady can be termed as WIFE as per law in the absence of legal separation order from the second wife.

In the absence of valid proof for the marriage with the third woman, the marriage between your brother and this lady cannot be established or recognised by law. The legal separation by a divorce deed with the second woman cannot be considered as a valid dissolution of marriage or divorce.

Whether the marriage cancellation deed is sufficient for marrying the third lady.

No it is not sufficient to prove his marriage with the second lady is dissolved by a decree of divorce by law.

Whether the third lady has got right on the ancestral property of my family when there is no child born through 3 ladies,

The legally wedded wife is entitled to her husband's properties whether it is inherited or self acquired.

The patta of our land stands jointly in my name and the deceased brother. The course of action to be taken in this regard may be advised to me early

The patta is not a title document.

A registered deed conferring title to the property can only be considered as evidence to prove the title of the property whoever may claim it.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84711 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

In the death certificate issued by the Municipality she had managed to include her name as Wife.and by using the certificate she is receiving pension bank deposits. Can I approach the Municipality to make corrections in the certificate deleting her name from the Column"Wife" as Section 15 of the Births and Death Act enable such correction. If they refuse to do it what is the next course of action to be taken by me

You can approach the Municipal authorities for deletion of her name as wife from the death certificate on the basis of the documents you may rely upon. However the authorities may not be bale to entertain any such application since they cannot make any correction on the basis of your application without any order from a court of law.

Thus you may, on the basis of the letter refusing to delete or entertaining your request, you may approach court seeking direction to the authorities to make corrections. The court on hearing both sides and finding the genuineness in your request and the plaint, may pass an appropriate order.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84711 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

In the Marriage cancellation deed dt 4-1-2001,registered under Indian Registration Act , both my brother and second wife has expressed that they can marry anybody(Age 48) as per their own wishes and they have specifically stated in page 3 of the document that there is no need for any compensation/award. As per the above wordings (1)I feel that the second wife cannot claim anything either pension or property including deceased's ancestral property.Kindly clarify.

This is yor wrong notion.

As this is not a legally valid divorce and since still remains his legally wedded wife, she can claim rights over his properties including his pensionary benefits.

The contents of this agreement, even if it registered, is not maintainable if she contests the same in the court of law.

While my brother was living with third lady in 2014 he had already effected a settlement deed transferring the House building with vacant site valued Rs.1 crore acquired by him at Chennai from his own funds in favour of third lady in which she is residing. The deed was termed as settlement and Rs.10,000/- alone has been paid as Stamp duty terming her as "wife"., if she is not wife Rs. 10,00,000 has to be paid as Stamp duty. As observed by lawyers that she is not eligible to be termed as legally wedded wife then (2)what will be the fate of Settlement deed ?Is it valid?

If the property was your brother's own property and the transfer of property was made by a registered settlement deed, then the same is legally valid even if it is proved that she is not his legally wedded wife. She may have to pay the difference in the stamp duty if she is not eligible for a settlement of this kind.

(3)Whether the third lady has got right on the ancestral property of my family when there is no child born through 3 ladies, After the demise of my father,the patta of our ancestral land stands jointly in my name and the deceased brother. The course of action to be taken in this regard may be adviced to me early as the third lady is threatening me that without her consent I cannot dispose my ancestral properties.

If your brother had any legitimate share in the property that is co-shared among the legal heirs, then his share of property shall devolve automatically on all his legal heirs, incidentally, the third woman claims herself as his wife and if proved, she will be his legal heir and thus entitled to his legitimate share in the property.

In that case you cannot dispose the entire property without the consent of the their lady.

You have to wait for the court decision if you file a mandatory injunction suit against her to not interfere in your possession and enjoyment of the property so that let she come with her claim for a share in the property based on the documents she may rely upon to prove herself as his wife and thus claiming a share in the capacity of his legal heir.

My brother was away from my family for more than 37 years ,not spending any paise for us, not attending my father and mother and sisters including hospitalization,death etc. My father and mother are no more. Kindly guide me.and save me, a person devoted my entire life for the welfare of my parents and sisters. He never spent any money even to the cremation of my parents. (4)Kindly advice me how to get ride of the third lady from demanding share on my ancestral properties.

These things cannot be claimed as an excuse for not giving her the share in the property as per law.

You may file a mandatory injunction suit to keep her away from the property as suggested, let she take her own decision to fight back or to compromise.

T Kalaiselvan
Advocate, Vellore
84711 Answers
2172 Consultations

5.0 on 5.0

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