Before 1976 there was a provision to s. 15. Under that proviso after a divorce decree the parties concerned had to wait for one year before entering into another marriage. This proviso was omitted in 1976. So this waiting period does not apply.
However, the parties have to wait until the time for appealing has expired (or appeal, if presented, has been dismissed). In Tejinder Kaur v. Gurmit Singh, AIR 1988 SC 839, the petition for divorce by the husband on the ground of cruelty succeeded in the trial court.
The High Court dismissed the wife’s appeal. Then within a month the husband remarried another woman. The divorced wife filed a special leave petition in the Supreme Court under Art. 136 of the Constitution. The husband raised a preliminary point that the petition has become infructuous and should be dismissed because he had already re-married.
Image Source: expatliving.sg
ADVERTISEMENTS:
The Supreme Court rejected this contention. The husband has to wait and see whether a special leave petition will be filed within 90 days as provided by law of Limitation. If it is filed, he has to wait until it is disposed of by the Supreme Court. Otherwise he takes a risk for if the wife succeeds in the Supreme Court the decree of divorce may be set aside.
Section 15 has no application when a marriage is declared a nullity under s. 12. It applies only to decree of divorce under s. 13. Lata vs. Vilas, AIR 1987 Bom. 231. So a husband whose marriage to В is pronounced to be a nullity under s. 12 on the ground that. В was pregnant by another even before the marriage, can marry С even while B’s appeal was pending if there is no stay order. The appeal becomes infructuous in such a case.