After a 3 year period of separation and futility of all efforts of cohabitation, i filed for divorce on grounds of cruelty and dessertion. My wife was duly
served notice (once by court and once by counsellor). She never appeared in the district court.
1.5 month later she filed in the high court asking for transfer of this case to her native place. Initially for 2-3 hearings i had appointed a lawyer in the highcourt for the transfer case. Later, I was prepared for transferring the case to her native place, so i directed my lawyer to gracefully withdraw from the case and let the High court make the decision on merits. 2.5 months passed since i withdrew my lawyer and i had been diligently attending the dates of the district family court.
Since, there was a stalemate, i applied to family court for putting the divorce matter exparte. In the application, i did mention that there is a pending transfer case in the highcourt. Till this time, my wife had not appeared even once, not represented a lawyer, nor filed a writen statement, nor convyed the family court about her inability to attend the hearing and about her transfer case in the highcourt. She also didnt apply for a stay on this divorce case. Considering all this the judge passed the matter exparte. 1.5 months after putting the matter exparte, I submitted the affidavit and put forth my argument. The judge then passed the ex parte judgement and decree.
1 week after passing the decree, the family court received a transfer order from high court. The high court had disposed the transfer case in her favour. It had disposed the case before i had applied for putting my divorce case ex parte. But there was a delay from the high court in dispatching the transfer order to the district court. The district court replied to the high court that they received the transfer order after the decree was passed and that the matter is disposed exparte and hence cant be transferred. All this information i got informally through some known circles in the district court. If had i not known some people internally, there was no way i would have understood all these things.
Its been over 5 months since her transfer case was disposed and 3 months since the exparte decree was passed. My wife has not set it aside nor she has appealed in the high court. I am not sure whether she is aware of the result. But i feel there is a gross negligence on her part. She neither represented in the divorce case here nor she kept track of her transfer case status. she is completely negligent.
In the current scenario, I am thinking of getting married second time. I feel i have not legally violated any things. I had intimated the district court about a pending transfer case in the high court while applying for exparte. I didnt get the decree by deceit. Moreover i waited for the limitation period of 90 days. So i feel iam not a legal defaulter and should be safe to marry now. The 90 days have just passed yesterday and i am thinking of marrying in couple of days.
I would like to know if my wife can appeal in the highcourt stating that i have got the decree by deceit, thereby declare my second marriage as null and void and charge me with bigamy.
