Gwalior (Madhya Pradesh): A PHE engineer had to wait for 38 long years to get a divorce from his wife while he got married to another woman and had two children with her. Even their children got married.The divorce case started from a Bhopal Court, went to Vidisha Family Court, Gwalior Family Court, High Court and even Supreme Court.
The Gwalior High Court has now permitted the divorce with the consent of both the parties and asked the engineer to give a lump sum amount of ₹12 lakh to his wife, said the engineer’s advocate.
The retired engineer from Bhopal was married in 1981 to a girl from Gwalior. In July 1985, the husband filed an application for divorce in Bhopal court after the wife could not bear any child. However, his claim was rejected. Meanwhile, both the husband and wife were living separately. After this, the husband filed a divorce in the Vidisha court.
Wife did not wanted divorce
On the contrary, in December 1989, the wife filed an application in the Family Court, Gwalior, for the restoration of relations. The court, taking ex parte action in this matter, considered the husband entitled to divorce and gave a decision in his favour. In March 1990, the engineer husband remarried, but the first wife appealed against the divorce order, which was accepted in the court. The matter continued to get delayed and in April 2002, the husband's pending divorce case in Vidisha was dismissed by the court.
Later, the husband appealed in the High Court and the court dismissed the husband's appeal in 2006. Against this order, the husband filed an SLP in the Supreme Court which also got dismissed in 2008.
From SC back to High Court
The same year, the husband once again applied for divorce in Vidisha court. His application was rejected seven years later in July 2015.
After this, he filed an appeal in the Gwalior Bench of the High Court. While the matter was pending in the court, the engineer had two children from his second wife and they were married as well and now the engineer has retired from his services.
Both the parties have finally agreed to the divorce and the matter will be next heard in February 2024.
Finally divorce with consent
Gwalior High Court advocate Ashok Jain said, “The High Court has directed the husband to pay a lump sum of ₹12 lakh to the wife. The father of the engineer's first wife was a police officer and wanted his daughter and son-in-law to live together. However, the woman’s brothers managed to convince her to stop pursuing the case as they have gotten old now. The husband and wife have agreed to divorce with consent.”
