Directive On Bigamy Needed To Avoid Pension Disputes: Assam CM

Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma on Friday justified barring government employees from marrying another person if the spouse is alive and warned of punitive action if they indulged in bigamy.

The 'Office Memorandum' (OM) by the personnel department, which did not mention about the divorce criterion, instructed employees to take the government's permission before marrying another person if the spouse is alive.

"We often get cases that after the death of an employee, both the wives fight for the pension. We find it very difficult to settle such disputes. Many widows are deprived of their pension because of conflicting claims. This rule was there earlier, but we didn't enforce it. Now we have enforced it," Sarma said.

He was speaking at the inauguration of the new Chief Minister Office at Janata Bhawan in Assam's Dispur.

Assam Chief Minister Dr Himanta Biswa Sarma inaugurated New Chief Minister Office at Janata Bhawan in Assam's Dispur on Friday. Sarma took the tour of the office after cutting the ribbon.

While talking to the press at the inauguration, Biswa talked about the Assam government barring its employees from marrying another person if the spouse is alive.

Sarma said,"We often get cases that after the death of the employee, both the wives fight for the pension. We find it very difficult to settle those disputes."

"Many widows are deprived of their pension because of conflicting claims, so this rule was there earlier, we didn't enforce it. Now we have enforced it," he added.

The Assam government has barred its employees from marrying another person if the spouse is alive and warned of punitive action if they indulged in bigamy.

The 'Office Memorandum' (OM) by the personnel department, which did not mention about the divorce criterion, instructed employees to take the government's permission before marrying another person if the spouse is alive.

Likewise, no female government servant shall marry any person who has a husband living without first obtaining the permission of the government, said the OM, which came into force with immediate effect.

The notification was issued by personnel additional chief secretary Niraj Verma on October 20, but it came to light on Thursday.

(With inputs from PTI)

Also Read: Assam Govt Employees Barred From Bigamy Without Prior Approval