Even if the second marriage of a Hindu under Hindu Marriage Act is held to be void, the children born out of the void wedlock are also entitled for terminal benefits of the deceased, says Kerala High Court in Anita v Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation Ltd.
In such a case, the payments of the terminal or pension benefits of the diseased must be released to the first wife, the child in the first marriage, and the children in the second marriage, in equal shares.
The Section 16 of the Hindu Marriage Act regards a child born from a marriage entered into, while the earlier marriage is subsisting, to be legitimate.
