New Delhi, April 22 (). The Delhi High Court has observed that divorce separates married couples, they lose their identity as husband and wife and if the divorce is ex parte, either party can legally remarry unless an appeal is filed within the given time period. Is.
A division bench of Justices Sanjeev Sachdeva and Vikas Mahajan said this while considering a petition filed by a woman. The woman had challenged the divorce order passed in her absence by the trial court in 2003, her husband had remarried.
The petitioner unsuccessfully challenged the divorce before the Additional District Judge 18 months after the date of the judgment.
The ex-husband opposed the petition before the High Court against the order of the District Judge, stating that he remarried 17 months after the ex-parte order and now has two children from that second marriage.
The bench noted that as per Section 15 of the Hindu Marriage Act, a divorced Hindu couple becomes competent to remarry if the appeal is not made in time. As no appeal was filed within the time limit in the present case, there is no merit in the petition.
It is common practice, the bench said, that after the decree is passed, the dissolution of the marriage is complete. A decree of divorce dissolves the matrimonial bond and the parties lose their status of husband and wife in relation to each other.
The court said, even in case of an ex-parte decree of divorce, it would be valid for either party to remarry if an appeal is not filed against it within the time period.
According to the court, the petitioner was legally served with the summons relating to the divorce proceedings and no fraud has been committed by the ex-husband.
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