Bombay High Court Denies Relief to Woman Who Remarried During Divorce Appeal
The Bombay High Court has refused to dismiss a husband’s appeal against a divorce decree, rejecting the plea of his ex-wife who remarried during the appeal period.
A division bench of Justices RD Dhanuka and MM Sathaye noted that the case reflects a growing trend where litigants attempt to bypass legal provisions by creating irreversible situations, thereby complicating pending cases.
Case Background
The couple married in 2006 and has one child. In 2019, a Family Court granted the wife a divorce and permanent custody of the child. The husband later challenged the decree in the Bombay High Court, resulting in a stay on the Family Court’s order.
Subsequently, the wife filed an application to dismiss her husband’s appeal, arguing that she had already married a German national, unaware that her husband had filed an appeal. She claimed that the appeal notice reached her three days after her wedding.
She also stated that the couple had lived separately for over a decade, and the marriage had irretrievably broken down. Thus, she argued that the divorce decree stay should be vacated, and the appeal dismissed.
Husband’s Argument
The husband countered that his wife remarried hastily and applied for the child’s passport to potentially deny him access to his son. He also argued that the court had already barred the wife from taking their son abroad and had stayed the divorce decree, considering her conduct.
He emphasized that the second marriage could not be legally registered or socially accepted as it violated Section 15 of the Hindu Marriage Act.
Court’s Observation and Verdict
Under Section 15 of the Hindu Marriage Act, remarriage is not permitted while an appeal against a divorce decree is pending or within one year of the decree. Section 19 allows an aggrieved spouse 90 days to file an appeal.
The court expressed surprise at the wife’s bold request to dismiss the appeal despite violating Section 15. Consequently, it refused to dismiss the husband’s appeal at this interim stage.
Case Title: Akash Kanwarlal Kamal v. Himani Akash Kamal
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