SMITA DILIP RANE Vs. DILIP DATTARAM RANE

JUDGEMENT

(1.) THE Respondent-husband Dilip Rane filed a Petition against Appellant-wife under the Hindu Marriage Act for divorce on the ground of cruelty. Shri V. K. Kulkarni, Judge, Bombay City Civil Court at Bombay, allowed the said Petition and declared that the marriage solemnised between Dilip Rane and Smt. Smita Rane stands dissolved by a decree of divorce.

(2.) BEING aggrieved by this judgment and decree, Sint. Smita Rane (wife) filed an Appeal before this Court. Sharad Manohar J. , before whom the Appeal was placed for hearing, fully heard the Appeal. On going through the evidence on record, he carne to the conclusion that there is hardly any acceptable evidence about the alleged acts of cruelty. He further found that assuming that there were any acts of cruelty, the said acts stand condoned, and therefore, the decree of divorce as passed by the City Civil Court cannot be sustained. However, in view of the subsequent complication, and relying upon the observations of the Supreme Court in Smt. Saroj Rani v. Sudarshan Kumar Chadha, AIR 1984 SC 1562, he thought it fit to refer the matter to the Division Bench, and this is how this Appeal has been placed before us.

(3.) IT appears that after the decree was passed by the trial court on 18-7-1985, the Appellant-wife filed an Appeal before the High Court on 19th August 1985. It is an admitted position that the Appeal was filed within limitation, since, the Appellant had applied for certified copy of the judgment and the same was not made available to her. The Respondent-husband had also filed a Caveat through his trial Court Advocate in the High Court. In spite of this position, during the pendency of Appeal, he married a second wife on 21st of October 1985. Sharad Manohar, J. found that the said marriage cannot be saved from the prohibition contemplated by Section 15 of the Hindu Marriage Act. However, according to him, in view of this subsequent event, the marriage has broken irretrievably and has gone on the rocks. Because of this second marriage, there is no likelihood of building a bridge between the two spouses. The relations between the two spouses have also become bitter in view of criminal proceedings ensuing on account of the second marriage. Sharad Manohar J. , also noted that the statutory law does not appear to be giving sufficient elbow room to this Court to grant divorce to the spouses or to either, of them on the ground that the marriage has irretrievably broken. However, relying upon the observations made by the Supreme Court in Smt. Saroj Rani's case, he thought, if the marriage had gone on rocks not on account of the fault of either of the spouses, then a divorce could be granted by this Court. According to the learned Judge, the question being of great public importance, he thought it fit to refer the matter to the Division Bench.