RANCHI, Sept. 4 -- The Jharkhand High Court (JHC) ruled that a second wife cannot claim a compassionate appointment if her marriage to a government servant, who is now dead, was contracted without prior official sanction.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice MS Sonak and Justice Rajesh Shankar on Wednesday dismissed an appeal filed by Martha Murmu. The order was uploaded on the high court website on Thursday.

Murmu had challenged a single-judge order rejecting her application for employment following the death of her husband, Barnawas Maltu, a former Panchayat Sewak who died in harness in July 2011.

Murmu argued that as members of the Santhali Tribe, their customary laws legally permitted a second marriage. However, the Bench firm...