The Indian Army devised an ingenious way to help a jawan's second wife get widow status and the benefits that come with it, like a pension.
The case was complicated as the jawan's official records mentioned the name of his first wife, who had snapped ties immediately after their wedding and has been untraceable. In the absence of a divorce certificate, the second wife was not in official records.
To fix this, the Army came up with the idea of an ‘elopement certificate’, paving the way for the second wife to get the status of a legal spouse.
The veterans’ branch of Uttar Maharashtra and Gujarat (UMANG) sub-area recently received an official seal on the ‘elopement certificate’.
The soldier's second wife may finally receive the family pension she has been denied for over a year.