1. THE petitioner in this Article 226 petition dated May 17, 2006 is aggrieved by the decision of the District Inspector of Schools (PE), Malda dated March 13, 2006 (at p.50).

2. FACTS of the case revealed by the pleadings and the documents produced with them are these. The petitioner's husband, Gour Chandra Chowdhury, was a primary school teacher. He retired from service on February 28, 1985. On February 25, 1987 his first wife, Anita, died at the age of 42. Under a pension payment order dated August 27, 1987 he was granted pension as from March 1, 1985. He died on April 21, 1997. Claiming to be his second wife married to him before enactment of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 the petitioner applied for family pension. By the impugned decision the claim has been turned down.

The District Inspector of Schools (in short DIS) held that the petitioner failed to give any evidence in proof of her claim that she was married to Gour before enactment of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955. In the process the DIS referred to an Order No.9388-F dated August 4, 1983 to support his opinion that wife of a Hindu subject to the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 marrying at a time he has a