Hindu Marriage Act | Second Marriage During Appeal Period Valid If Divorce Decree Remains Unchallenged By Ex-Spouse: Kerala High Court

The Kerala High Court has recently held that a marriage contracted within the time frame provided for appealing a decree of divorce dissolving previous marriage would not be considered to be illegal if the decree is unchallenged by the former spouse.The decision was passed by the Division Bench of Justice Devan Ramachandran and Justice M.B. Snehalatha while considering an original petition by a wife (petitioner) challenging the Family Court's order. The Family Court had permitted the husband (1st respondent) to amend his pleadings in an application for divorce after he 'found out' that the wife's former marriage was dissolved by a decree on the very same day on which her second marriage took place.It was contended by the 1st respondent that the second marriage took place within the time frame for appeal provided and therefore, the second husband contended that their marriage was illegal by virtue of Section 15. As per Section 15, when a marriage has been dissolved by a decree of divorce, the parties to the said marriage can remarry only upon expiry of time provided for appeal or if appeal has been dismissed.Rejecting the contention, the Court observed:“The crucial query is whether a marriage contracted within the time frame mentioned in Section 15 of the 'Act', even when the decree of divorce has not been appealed against, can be construed to be illegal in all cases. Even a close reading of this provision would not concede to any such conclusion; though, if a person is to contract a marriage in violation of the same, it is possible that a legal challenge against it could be made by the divorced spouse… When there is no challenge by the petitioner's former husband to her subsequent marriage, we fail to fathom how the 1st respondent can now say that her marriage with him is null and void.”The 1st respondent further contended that the second marriage took place at 10 am, i.e., before the official timing of commencement of work of district courts, and therefore, the marriage occurred before the decree of divorce was pronounced by the court.However, the Court did not accept this either. It observed that a judgment's operation is from the day it is dated and signed by the judicial officer/judge and not based on time at which it was pronounced.Clarifying this point, the Court further observed:“Every judgment, as soon as it is delivered, becomes the operative pronouncement of the Court. Order XX Rule 1 of Code of Civil Procedure (CPC) mandates that judgments and orders be delivered in Open Court. Such judgments or orders become effective as soon as they are dated and signed by the Judge/s. Pertinently, the period of limitation prescribed for preferring Appeal or Revision – as the case may be – starts running from such date and not from the time of actual delivery of the judgment… Ineluctably, therefore, once the judgment is pronounced/delivered, it takes effect immediately and operates from the commencement of the day it was so pronounced or delivered.”The Court also noted that the amendment sought by the 1st respondent was without deleting the former prayers, which resulted in two sets of reliefs claimed by him, i.e., for divorce of valid marriage and for declaration the marriage as void.Thus, the Court allowed the original petition and set aside the order of the Family Court that permitted the amendment.Case No: O.P. (FC) No. 409 of 2025Case Title: Rakhi v. Krishnakumar and Ors.Citation: 2025 LiveLaw (Ker) 573Counsel for the petitioner: Johnson Gomez, Sanjay JohnsonCounsel for the respondent: K.R. Arun Krishnan, M.S. Ajithkumar, Deepa K. Radhakrishnan, Sanal C.S., Vishak K.V.Click to Read/Download Judgment

Hindu Marriage Act | Second Marriage During Appeal Period Valid If Divorce Decree Remains Unchallenged By Ex-Spouse: Kerala High Court

K. Salma Jennath

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