Bombay High Court Rejects Wife’s Plea to Set Aside Divorce Due to Her Absence During Proceedings
The Bombay High Court recently dismissed a woman’s plea to set aside a divorce decree, observing that she had deliberately remained absent during the trial despite receiving multiple court summons.
The division bench of Justices Nitin Jamdar and Sharmila Deshmukh stated that the wife, who had filed three separate criminal cases against her husband, was clearly aware of the legal process. Therefore, her claim of being illiterate and misled by legal advice was rejected.
“The wife had knowledge of legal procedures. She chose not to attend the hearings despite being served summons. It was not the Family Court’s responsibility to force her presence,” the bench said.
The couple had married in May 1986 and had three children. In 2006, the husband filed for divorce on grounds of mental cruelty, alleging that the wife had an affair, verbally abused, and eventually left him in 2003.
Despite several summons issued between June to December 2007, the wife never appeared in court, leading the Family Court to grant divorce on December 17, 2007.
She later filed an application to set aside the divorce, which was also rejected in 2008. Both orders were then challenged in the High Court.
The High Court noted that the wife had actively filed a petition for restitution of conjugal rights, an application for maintenance, and a criminal case under Sections 498A, 506(II), and 34 IPC—indicating she was well-versed with the legal process.
“After waiting for almost six months, the Family Court was justified in moving ahead with the divorce. No error can be found in the Family Court’s decision,” the bench added.
The husband informed the court that he had remarried, and the wife was now living with her alleged partner in Gujarat. He claimed the current case was merely an attempt to harass him.
Considering the circumstances, the High Court upheld the Family Court’s judgment and dismissed the wife’s appeal.
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