Anushka Sharma –
Published On: October 15, 2021 at 15:44 IST
The Mumbai High Court’s Nagpur Bench said that even if the second wife was kept in the dark about the man’s previous marriage, a man’s second wife cannot be considered his lawfully wedded spouse. Hence, denied the woman’s request for restitution of conjugal rights and maintenance from her husband.
Previously, the Family Court declined to accept her claim of being legally wedded to a 66-year-old man. The 47-year-old woman moved to the High Court in 2012.
A Division Bench comprising Justices AS Chandurkar and GA Sanap remarked, “Even if it is assumed for the sake of argument that the appellant [second wife] had been kept in the dark about the first marriage of the respondent [husband] with Chandrakala in the year 1990, on proof of the said fact, the contention of the appellant that she is legally wedded wife of the respondent cannot be accepted.”
Chandrakala, the second wife, claimed the Family Court discarded her proof and witness testimony which supported her claim of being married to the 66-year-old in August 2003, according to their traditional rituals and customs.
In October 2008, she submitted that the man abandoned her after she refused to pay him 50,000 rupees.
The man denied marrying Chandrakala and claimed that he got married in 1990 and divorced in 2009. In either case, he maintained that the second marriage was void.
The High Court agreed with him, ruling that Chandrakala was not his legally married wife because he was not divorced at the time of the second marriage.
Even if her marriage was found to be void, the Bench dismissed her claim that she was entitled to support based on five years of cohabitation.