In Brief
A woman married her second husband in 2014, years after her first divorce in 2005. She sought maintenance under criminal law, but it was denied on the ground that her second marriage was void because she had filed (though untimely) an appeal against the first divorce while the second marriage was pending. The Supreme Court held that a marriage is not automatically void merely because it occurred during a belated appeal; Section 15 of the Hindu Marriage Act protects only timely appeals. Since the appeal was filed after the statutory period expired and the ex-husband had already remarried, the second marriage was valid. The Court allowed the appeal and remitted the maintenance claim for determination on merits.
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