Chandigarh, Dec 5 — The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that a man committed civil contempt by remarrying while a stay on his divorce decree was in force, observing that the move “renders the appeal infructuous” and strips the spouse of legal remedy.
Justice Alka Sarin sentenced him to three months’ simple imprisonment and a ₹2,000 fine, saying the breach of the stay order was deliberate. “It virtually rendered the appeal filed by the petitioner-wife infructuous and her remediless,” she said.
The appeal was filed on March 12, 2020. The divorce decree was stayed on August 13, 2020. The husband nevertheless remarried on January 3, 2021.
His defence—that he had not been served and came to know of the appeal only in February 2021—was rejected. The court said that even assuming no service, he made no effort to check within the limitation period whether his wife had challenged the decree. “The argument cannot stand when the respondent-husband admittedly never made enquiries,” Justice Sarin said.
The husband’s unconditional apology was also turned down. The judge noted it was offered only after he was confronted in court. “The apology in the present case cannot be accepted,” she said, citing wilful violation of Section 15 of the Hindu Marriage Act, which bars remarriage until the appeal period ends or an appeal is decided.
The court said the conduct caused irreversible harm, including loss of any opportunity for reconciliation for the wife and daughter. It reaffirmed that remarrying during a valid stay “amounts to civil contempt” and upheld punishment under Section 12 of the Contempt of Courts Act.
