Wife’s Remarriage Before 90-Day Appeal Period Technically Invalid, Madras HC Upholds Divorce For Cruelty

The parties married on 19 April 2005 and had one daughter.

The wife alleged that the husband abused and assaulted her, including during pregnancy, and that she left the matrimonial home in June 2008 after a dispute concerning their child’s treatment.

She petitioned for divorce on the ground of cruelty under Section 10(1)(x) of the Divorce Act, 1869; the trial court granted the decree on 26 April 2019.

The husband appealed, disputing the finding of cruelty.

The appellate court noted that the trial-court evidence records had been destroyed and that only the petition, counter, and orders remained available.

The wife had remarried on 11 July 2019, before the appeal was filed and before the court-considered 90-day appeal period expired.

The court applied Section 10(1)(x) of the Divorce Act, 1869, as the statutory ground for divorce based on cruelty.

It referred to Sections 45 and 55 of that Act, stating that the Code of Civil Procedure applies to divorce proceedings and that an appeal lies to the High Court within 90 days; it also referred to Article 116 of the Limitation Act, 1963, for that appeal period.

Regarding remarriage, the court referred to Section 57 of the Divorce Act and held that a divorced spouse must wait until the appeal period has expired before remarrying.

On cruelty, the court noted the wife’s allegations and the trial court’s assessment of the parties’ evidence.

Although the evidence records had been destroyed and the appellate court could not review the witnesses’ testimony, it accepted the trial court’s finding that cruelty had been established and found no basis to interfere with the decree.

On remarriage, it calculated that the wife remarried before expiry of the 90-day appeal period and held that the remarriage was technically invalid, while observing that she could pursue an appropriate remedy.

It further held that the wife’s remarriage before expiry of the appeal period was technically invalid, leaving her to seek a remedy as appropriate.

There was no order as to costs.