One Indian girl filed for divorce for not living with her husband for 4 years. After filing, plenty of adjournments and in the due course she met another person became intimate and he wants to marry her. I heard that it is legal if a girl awaiting divorce gets married under protection that she married for safety,security and as protection. But if a man gets married before the divorce procedure is over - it is illegal. So can the girl get married-- yes or no. Only Indian legal professionals answer pls.
2007-09-04 03:24:30 · 3 answers · asked by TROUBLESHOOTERKILLROY 2 in Family & Relationships ➔ Marriage & Divorce
O.k. Although the reply given by my predecessors is correct but not providing complete details so I shall explain it to you. I shall take the provisions of one religious & one civil marriage enactment that applies to the marriages in India. First, let me provide the legal position which relates to Hindu form of marriage in India, section 17 of the Hindu Marriage ACt, 1955:- Punishment of Bigamy. - Any marriage between two Hindus solemnized after the commencement of this Act is void if at the date of such marriage either party had a husband or wife living; and the provisions of Sections 494 and 495 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860) shall apply accordingly.
Second let me provide legal position which relates to civil form of marriage between two Indians as provided under 44, of the Special Marriage Act ,1954 :- Punishment of bigamy.-- Every person whose marriage is solemnized under this Act and who, during the lifetime of his or her wife or husband, contracts any other marriage shall be subject to the penalties provided in Secs.494 and 495 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (45 of 1860) for the offence of marrying again during the lifetime of a husband of wife, and the marriage so contracted shall be void.
Now let us see what the relevant provisions of section 494 of the Indian Penal Code provides: - Marrying again during lifetime of husband or wife
Whoever, having a husband or wife living, marries in any case in which such marriage is void by reason of its taking place during the life of such husband or wife, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to seven years, and shall also be liable to fine.
Exception-This section does not extend to any person whose marriage with such husband or wife has been declare void by a Court of competent jurisdiction,
nor to any person who contracts a marriage during the life of a former husband or wife, if such husband or wife, at the time of the subsequent marriage, shall have been continually absent from such person for the space of seven years, and shall not have been heard of by such person as being alive within that time provided the person contracting such subsequent marriage shall, before such marriage takes place, inform the person with whom such marriage is contracted of the real state of facts so far as the same are within his or her knowledge. Now let us see what section 495 of the Indian penal code provides: - Same offence with concealment of former marriage from person with whom subsequent marriage is contracted
Whoever commits the offence defined in the last preceding section having concealed from the person with whom the subsequent marriage is contracted, the fact of the former marriage, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to ten years, and shall also be liable to fine.
What we find in all these provisions of law with relation to second marriage that its not only man who can face the charges of bigamy & face punishment for it but even the lady gets the same if she commits bigamy. Now let me point out here what does the term marriage, wife & husband means in all these provisions. Marriage means validly preformed marriage according to the religious form or the provisions as provided for the valid& essential marriage ceremonies that shall bind both the parties as husband & wife. It is not any ceremony that makes them husband & wife in the eye of society but the essential & valid marriage ceremonies which are recognized by law & which make them legally wedded husband & wife, i.e. in case of Hindus section 7 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 provides: - Ceremonies for a Hindu marriage.-(1) A Hindu marriage may be solemnized in accordance with the customary rites and ceremonies of either party thereto.
(2) Where such rites and ceremonies include the saptapadi (that is, the taking of seven steps by the bridegroom and the bride jointly before the sacred fire), the marriage becomes complete and binding when the seventh step is taken.
Now as you see here the seventh step makes them husband & wife in the eye of law, any thing short of this may mean them husband & wife in the eye of society but for the legal sense the proof of this particular ceremony if applicable to then because of their customs & usage is the essential ceremony & has to be brought before the court to declare a valid marriage between them. Here husband & wife mean those people who have gone through a valid marriage & have not got their marriage dissolved by the court on any grounds of annulment or divorce as the case may be. Any marriage subsist till a proper decree of annulment or divorce is granted by the competent court of jurisdiction & such decree has not be revered or set aside in appeal or revision by any higher court. Till all the time period with regards to appeal or revision as the case may be has passed even the person who has decree of divorce or annulment as the case may be cannot remarry section 15 of the Hindu Marriage Act provides :- Divorced persons. When may marry again. - When a marriage has been dissolved by a decree of divorce and either there is no right of appeal against the decree or, if there is such a right of appeal, the time for appealing has expired without an appeal having been presented, or an appeal has been presented but has been dismissed, it shall be lawful for either party to the marriage to marry again. A similar provision is provided under the Special Marriage Act, 1954. Now I hope the legal position with regard to any person who has applied for divorce but has not got the decree of divorce cannot legally marry again otherwise such a second marriage will be void being preformed in contravention of one of the essential condition of marriage which is that both the parties should be unmarried or divorcee or widow or widower as the case may be or in other words they should not be having any living or existing spouse. If any of them contravene this condition then not only their second marriage is void by virtue of this, but they can also face charges of bigamy.
2007-09-04 18:57:36 · answer #1 · answered by vijay m Indian Lawyer 7 · 8⤊ 0⤋
Nope, she cannot marry till she is divorced. & just a though --- a girl or a man who divorces in the first place may do so again and again for it is often the case that people are no longer willing to suffer the traumas of life with another. So we have to think whether divorcing at all is ever the answer!
2007-09-04 04:32:56 · answer #2 · answered by Rhapsodysinger 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
If the girl remarries in a marriage ceremony which would have been a legal marriage during the subsistence of a prior valid marriage she and her BF will be liable under various sections of IPC including u/s 494,497,498 IPC and can look forward to jail time.
In short, the answer is no.
2007-09-04 03:42:49 · answer #3 · answered by Pramod R 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
legally, no divorce. no remarriage simple
2007-09-04 03:33:00 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋