The divorce granted to the husband by a family court had been stayed by a division bench of the High Court.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court has sentenced a man to three months’ simple imprisonment and imposed a fine of ₹2,000 for entering into a second marriage while his first wife’s appeal against their divorce was still pending.
The order was issued by Justice Alka Sarin in response to a petition filed by the first wife under the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971.
The Court declined to accept the husband’s apology, observing that he had deliberately violated Section 15 of the Hindu Marriage Act, which prohibits remarriage during the pendency of an appeal filed within the prescribed limitation period.
“The conduct of the respondent-husband in contracting a second marriage after filing of the appeal by the petitioner-wife within the prescribed period of limitation and a stay having been granted therein, amounts to civil contempt and accordingly he is held guilty for commission of the same. The sanctity of rule of law and the brazen breach and non-compliance of the orders passed by this Court cannot be taken lightly,” it observed.
The Court observed that the husband’s conduct had caused irreversible consequences, noting that the clock could not be turned back and the harm already done could not be undone.
“Virtually, the conduct of respondent-husband has rendered the appeal filed by the petitioner-wife infructuous and the petitioner-wife being remediless. The petitioner-wife and her daughter have even missed out the chance to partake in any reconciliation process,” it opined.
The couple married in 2012. In 2020, their marriage was dissolved by a family court pursuant to the husband’s petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act. The wife subsequently challenged the decree before the High Court within the prescribed limitation period, and on August 13, 2020, a Division Bench of the High Court stayed the divorce order.
The husband entered appearance in the High Court proceedings only in February 2021, and it is stated that he contracted a second marriage in January 2021. Thereafter, the wife filed the present contempt petition.
She argued that a Division Bench of the High Court has already ruled that the right to file an appeal under Section 28 of the Hindu Marriage Act is an important legal right of the spouse who loses the case. Therefore, if the person who gets the divorce order does something that takes away or weakens that right—like remarrying while the appeal is still pending—it amounts to wilful disobedience of the court.
In response, the husband admitted that he had married another woman. However, he claimed that he was never served notice about the divorce appeal and said he came to know about the case only after his first wife filed a criminal complaint against him.
After considering the arguments, the Court observed that two Division Benches of the High Court have clearly held that if an appeal is filed within the limitation period, then entering into a second marriage thereafter amounts to a violation of Section 15 of the Hindu Marriage Act.
The Court further pointed out that the appeal in this case was filed well within the prescribed time and noted that the husband also seemed to have “avoided” receiving notice in the appeal, since he remained unserved at the very same address he had provided in his divorce petition before the family court.
“Even if the argument of learned counsel for the respondent- husband as regards the fact that respondent-husband was not served in the appeal is to be taken on its face value, he admittedly never made inquiries within the prescribed period of limitation regarding filing of the appeal,” the Court further said.
As a result, the Court found the husband guilty of civil contempt and ordered him to serve three months in jail and pay a fine. He has been told to surrender before the Chief Judicial Magistrate in Yamunanagar at Jagadhri within 15 days from November 27.
