Hyderabad: A 56-year-old man had to formally seek divorce from his estranged wife after living separately and marrying another woman for 20 years.
The man, a Central government employee, had married the woman in 1990, but soon they fell apart. Instead of approaching a court for divorce, they approached village elders and entered into an agreement for divorce. He paid an alimony of Rs 50,000.
Without obtaining the divorce decree from the court, the man married a second time and had children from this marriage.
However, divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act can be granted only by a competent court and any arrangement agreed upon by the couple or their families is void ab initio.
The man, therefore, faced problem in getting his second wife as the nominee for his retirement benefits. When he nominated his second wife and children for pension, he found that their names were not matching with the records of the personnel department, which had his first wife’s name.
The petitioner filed for divorce in order to be able to change records. The divorce was ex parte as the petitioner was unable to reach his first wife even by means of notice of paper publications. The court followed normal procedures and dissolved the marriage.
Advocates say such cases happen because some couples do not approach court for a legal divorce and opt for a notarised document to end the marriage, a process that has no legal sanctity and they would continue to be a couple under law. “Even youngsters with more awareness just sign on any paper and leave each other. The problem arises when they have to travel abroad or make government records,” said advocate Anita Shalabh Jain.
The lack of scrutiny of records allows such cases to go unnoticed. “Some departments may validate the new marriage, while some may cancel the plea years later,” she said.
