{"id":368585,"date":"2025-12-03T16:00:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T10:30:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?p=368585"},"modified":"2025-12-04T17:11:38","modified_gmt":"2025-12-04T11:41:38","slug":"delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/","title":{"rendered":"Customary Divorce to be proved with cogent evidence; Delhi HC holds Second Marriage void after woman fails to prove Customary Divorce from Prior Marriage"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>\n.animate-charcter{background-image: linear-gradient(-225deg, #231557 0%, #44107a 29%, #ff1361 67%, #fff800 100%); background-size: 200% auto; -webkit-background-clip: text; -webkit-text-fill-color: transparent; animation: textclip 0s linear infinite;}\n@keyframes textclip {to {background-position: 200% center;}}\n<\/style>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify; line-height: 150%;\">\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Delhi High Court:<\/span> In an appeal challenging the family&#8217;s court decree of divorce, a Division Bench of <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Anil Kshetarpal*<\/span> and Harish Vaidyanathan Shankar, JJ., upheld the Family Court&#8217;s declaration that the appellant&#8217;s marriage with respondent 1 was null and void, as the appellant failed to establish that she had obtained a valid customary divorce prior to their marriage.<\/p>\n<h3>Factual Matrix<\/h3>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">In the instant matter, the appellant was previously married and claimed to have obtained a customary divorce on 23-05-2009. Respondent 1 was also previously married and obtained a judicial divorce from a competent court on 25-05-2009.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The appellant and respondent 1 entered into a matrimonial alliance on 16-05-2010, and a son was born on 15-03-2011. The appellant later left her matrimonial home on 12-10-2012. Respondent 1 reportedly learnt on 25-09-2013 that appellant had <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">not in fact obtained a valid divorce<\/span> from her previous husband and filed a petition for divorce shortly thereafter on 10-10-2013.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The appellant filed the present appeal challenging the judgment and decree dated 07-06-2024 passed by the Family Court which declared her marriage with Respondent 1 null and void under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001543731\" target=\"_blank\">11<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726956\" target=\"_blank\">Hindu Marriage Act, 1955<\/a> (the Act), on the ground that it contravened Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001543761\" target=\"_blank\">5(i)<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726956\" target=\"_blank\">the Act<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Moot Point<\/h3>\n<ol style=\"list-style-type: decimal;\">\n<li>\n<p>Whether the appellant had successfully proved that the Jat community recognises a valid custom permitting Panchayati divorce?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">If yes, whether such Panchayati divorce actually took place between the appellant and her previous husband?<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<h3>Parties&#8217; Contentions<\/h3>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The appellant claimed that her divorce was conducted according to a customary practice of the Jat community. The applied relied on a photocopy of an alleged Deed of Divorce, marked as &#8220;X&#8221;, asserting it constituted a Panchayati\/customary divorce. It was contended that this customary dissolution of marriage was communicated to the respondent and that the parties willingly entered into marriage thereafter.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">However, respondent 1 submitted that no valid custom was proved and that there was no evidence of a properly convened or recognised Panchayat decision dissolving her earlier marriage. It was asserted that the appellant was still legally wedded wife of someone else at the time of her second marriage.<\/p>\n<h3>Court&#8217;s Analysis<\/h3>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court noted that the witness admitted that they did not attend the alleged Panchayat meeting. It was noted that no panchayatnama, no original document, and no proof of long-standing custom were produced. The Court further noted that <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">&#8220;neither the scribe nor any of these witnesses have been examined in this matter.&#8221;<\/span> The Court held that merely examining interested family members or elderly community members who never attended the alleged Panchayat meeting is insufficient.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">On the law of custom, the Court asserted that Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001543757\" target=\"_blank\">29(2)<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726956\" target=\"_blank\">the Act<\/a> saves any right recognised by custom to obtain dissolution of a Hindu marriage, but custom must be strictly proved.<\/p>\n<p class=\"animate-charcter\" style=\"margin-bottom: 3%; margin-left: 36pt; font-weight: bold;\">&#8220;Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001543757\" target=\"_blank\">29<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726956\" target=\"_blank\">HMA<\/a> saves any right recognised by custom or conferred by any special enactment to obtain dissolution of a Hindu marriage. Hence, the customary divorce, if validly proved, is saved by the provision of the HMA.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court referred to <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Bhimashya<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Janabi<\/span>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/Jh3P9T3D\" target=\"_blank\">(2006) 13 SCC 627<\/a>, where it was held that &#8220;a custom to be valid must have four essential attributes. First, it must be immemorial; secondly, it must be reasonable; thirdly, it must have continued without interruption&#8230; and fourthly, it must be certain,&#8221; <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Gokal Chand<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Parvin Kumari<\/span>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/2X074JKz\" target=\"_blank\">AIR 1952 SC 231<\/a> which stated that <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">&#8220;a custom, in order to be binding, must derive its force from the fact that by long usage it has obtained the force of law&#8221;<\/span> and Uzagar Singh v. Mst. Jeo, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/H8M6R5AV\" target=\"_blank\">AIR 1959 SC 1041<\/a>, where it was held that Custom must be proved under Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001516804\" target=\"_blank\">57<\/a> of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726934\" target=\"_blank\">Evidence Act, 1872<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court stated that <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">&#8220;it is not sufficient to prove custom of dissolution of marriage by examining few witnesses,&#8221;<\/span> but must be proved by cogent evidence. The Court stated that the proof included judgments recognising their custom, past instances, and documentary records demonstrating long-standing usage. The Court reiterated that <span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">&#8220;once the Court is called upon to declare that there exists a custom which is contrary to the codified law, the burden of proof is heavy upon the party asserting custom.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">As to the alleged divorce document, the Court stated that the document produced by the appellant is a mere agreement\/mutual settlement between the appellant and her previous husband and there is no reference to any Panchayat or meeting of the respectables of the area.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court stated that since no Panchayat members were named, no minutes or resolution was produced, no judicially recognized historical incidence of such divorce was shown and no legal text or precedent validating the custom was presented, herefore, the Court held that the appellant failed to discharge her burden of proof.<\/p>\n<h3>Court&#8217;s Decision<\/h3>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court held that the appellant had not proved that she obtained a customary divorce from previous husband. According as per Section <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0001543761\" target=\"_blank\">5(i)<\/a> of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink.aspx?q=JTXT-0002726956\" target=\"_blank\">the Act<\/a>, at the time of her alleged marriage to Respondent 1, the Appellant <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">had a living spouse<\/span>. Therefore, her marriage was void ab initio. The Court held that the Family Court had erroneously held that the custom existed.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">The Court upheld the Family Court&#8217;s finding that there exists no Panchayati divorce between the appellant and her previous husband. The Court dismissed the appeal, finding no reason to interfere with the Family Court&#8217;s decree.<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-bottom: 3%;\">[<span style=\"font-weight: bold; color: #632423;\"><span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Sushma<\/span> v. <span style=\"font-style: italic;\">Rattan Deep<\/span>, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scconline.com\/DocumentLink\/k5S7L5tC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2025 SCC OnLine Del 8663<\/a>, Decided on 28-11-2025<\/span>]<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-indent: 18pt;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000080;\">*Judgment by Justice Anil Kshetarpal<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<p>Advocates who appeared in this case:<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Mr. SC Singhal, Mr. Parth Mahajan, Ms. Garvita Bansal and Mr. Ritvik Madan, Counsel for the Appellant<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin-left: 18pt;\"><span style=\"font-weight: bold;\">Mr. Mrinal Singh and Ms. Priya Rani Jha, Counsel for the Respondents<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p style=\"font-style: italic;\">Section 29(2) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 protects only valid customary divorces, and in the present case the evidence was insufficient in law to prove either the existence of such a custom in the community or the factum of her own divorce.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67514,"featured_media":368586,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,10],"tags":[19381,43508,2543,4031,75265,83730,60755,45347,93984,93983],"class_list":["post-368585","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-casebriefs","category-highcourts","tag-custom","tag-customary-divorce","tag-Delhi_High_Court","tag-hindu-marriage-act","tag-justice-anil-kshetarpal","tag-justice-harish-vaidyanathan-shankar","tag-null-and-void-marriage","tag-panchayati-divorce","tag-section-11-hma","tag-section-5i-hma"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.4 (Yoast SEO v26.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Delhi HC: Customary Divorce to be proved with cogent evidence | SCC Times<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Delhi High Courts stresses on need for cogent evidence to prove Customary Divorce; holds Second Marriage void after woman fails to dissolution of Prior Marriage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Customary Divorce to be proved with cogent evidence; Delhi HC holds Second Marriage void after woman fails to prove Customary Divorce from Prior Marriage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Delhi High Courts stresses on need for cogent evidence to prove Customary Divorce; holds Second Marriage void after woman fails to dissolution of Prior Marriage\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SCC Times\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-12-03T10:30:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-12-04T11:41:38+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Customary-Divorce.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"886\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"590\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ritu\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:title\" content=\"Customary Divorce to be proved with cogent evidence; Delhi HC holds Second Marriage void after woman fails to prove Customary Divorce from Prior Marriage\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ritu\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/\",\"name\":\"Delhi HC: Customary Divorce to be proved with cogent evidence | SCC Times\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Customary-Divorce.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-12-03T10:30:09+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-12-04T11:41:38+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/392f265bae2f48f0f0d02b8e0e9015b9\"},\"description\":\"Delhi High Courts stresses on need for cogent evidence to prove Customary Divorce; holds Second Marriage void after woman fails to dissolution of Prior Marriage\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Customary-Divorce.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Customary-Divorce.webp\",\"width\":886,\"height\":590,\"caption\":\"Customary Divorce\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Customary Divorce to be proved with cogent evidence; Delhi HC holds Second Marriage void after woman fails to prove Customary Divorce from Prior Marriage\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SCC Times\",\"description\":\"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/392f265bae2f48f0f0d02b8e0e9015b9\",\"name\":\"Ritu\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c47318594774c1fe55e3e8c85dcd1909276373d9bf11730032fc1a7d05d56a47?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c47318594774c1fe55e3e8c85dcd1909276373d9bf11730032fc1a7d05d56a47?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Ritu\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/author\/editor_7\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Delhi HC: Customary Divorce to be proved with cogent evidence | SCC Times","description":"Delhi High Courts stresses on need for cogent evidence to prove Customary Divorce; holds Second Marriage void after woman fails to dissolution of Prior Marriage","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Customary Divorce to be proved with cogent evidence; Delhi HC holds Second Marriage void after woman fails to prove Customary Divorce from Prior Marriage","og_description":"Delhi High Courts stresses on need for cogent evidence to prove Customary Divorce; holds Second Marriage void after woman fails to dissolution of Prior Marriage","og_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/","og_site_name":"SCC Times","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/scc.online\/","article_published_time":"2025-12-03T10:30:09+00:00","article_modified_time":"2025-12-04T11:41:38+00:00","og_image":[{"width":886,"height":590,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Customary-Divorce.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Ritu","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_title":"Customary Divorce to be proved with cogent evidence; Delhi HC holds Second Marriage void after woman fails to prove Customary Divorce from Prior Marriage","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Ritu","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/","name":"Delhi HC: Customary Divorce to be proved with cogent evidence | SCC Times","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Customary-Divorce.webp","datePublished":"2025-12-03T10:30:09+00:00","dateModified":"2025-12-04T11:41:38+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/392f265bae2f48f0f0d02b8e0e9015b9"},"description":"Delhi High Courts stresses on need for cogent evidence to prove Customary Divorce; holds Second Marriage void after woman fails to dissolution of Prior Marriage","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Customary-Divorce.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Customary-Divorce.webp","width":886,"height":590,"caption":"Customary Divorce"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/03\/delhi-high-court-customary-divorce-cogent-evidence-second-marriage-held-void\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Customary Divorce to be proved with cogent evidence; Delhi HC holds Second Marriage void after woman fails to prove Customary Divorce from Prior Marriage"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/","name":"SCC Times","description":"Bringing you the Best Analytical Legal News","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/392f265bae2f48f0f0d02b8e0e9015b9","name":"Ritu","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c47318594774c1fe55e3e8c85dcd1909276373d9bf11730032fc1a7d05d56a47?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c47318594774c1fe55e3e8c85dcd1909276373d9bf11730032fc1a7d05d56a47?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Ritu"},"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/author\/editor_7\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Customary-Divorce.webp","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":365192,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/10\/30\/apathy-towards-aged-in-laws-amounts-to-cruelty-by-wife-del-hc\/","url_meta":{"origin":368585,"position":0},"title":"Apathy towards aged in-laws, prolonged denial of intimacy and false complaints against husband amounts to cruelty: Delhi HC","author":"Editor","date":"October 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cSustained neglect of marital obligations, coupled with acts designed to exacerbate discord, eroded the very foundation of the matrimonial bond.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Apathy towards aged-in laws","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Apathy-towards-aged-in-laws.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Apathy-towards-aged-in-laws.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Apathy-towards-aged-in-laws.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Apathy-towards-aged-in-laws.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":273156,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2022\/09\/06\/chhattisgarh-high-court-customary-divorce-separation-valid-divorce-when-custom-is-proved-hindu-marriage-act-code-of-civil-procedure-irretrievable-breakdown-aeof-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":368585,"position":1},"title":"Chhattisgarh High Court | Customary divorce reduced into writing followed by separation would be a valid divorce when custom is proved ancient","author":"Editor","date":"September 6, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 \u00a0 Chhattisgarh High Court: In a case related to an appeal filed against the decision of the family Court, whereby an application filed by the husband seeking divorce was dismissed, Goutam Bhaduri, J. held that the marriage must be stand dissolved under S. 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Chhattisgarh High Court","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/MicrosoftTeams-image-29-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/MicrosoftTeams-image-29-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/MicrosoftTeams-image-29-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/MicrosoftTeams-image-29-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/MicrosoftTeams-image-29-1.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":252041,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2021\/07\/30\/hindu-customs\/","url_meta":{"origin":368585,"position":2},"title":"Del HC | Can members of Scheduled Tribes following Hindu customs claim to be kept out of purview of HMA? HC answers; highlights need for Uniform Civil Code","author":"Bhumika Indulia","date":"July 30, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Delhi High Court: Prathiba M. Singh, J., held that, \u201c\u2026relegating parties to customary Courts when they themselves admit that they are following Hindu customs and traditions would be antithetical to the purpose behind enacting a statute like the HMA, 1955.\u201d Question for Consideration: Applicability of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":255692,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2021\/10\/16\/respondent-cant-seek-declaration-of-petitioners-second-marriage-as-void-as-counter-claim-in-a-divorce-proceeding-relief-cant-be-prayed-qua-third-party-under-section-23a-hma-sc\/","url_meta":{"origin":368585,"position":3},"title":"Respondent can&#8217;t seek declaration of petitioner&#8217;s &#8220;second marriage&#8221; in a divorce proceeding; Relief can&#8217;t be prayed qua third party under Section 23A HMA: SC","author":"Prachi Bhardwaj","date":"October 16, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Under the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, the relief of divorce, judicial separation etc. can be between the husband and the wife only and cannot extend to the third party.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/sc-2-7.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/sc-2-7.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/sc-2-7.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/sc-2-7.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/sc-2-7.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":367808,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/11\/26\/mp-hc-grants-divorce-to-wife-after-husbands-refusal-despite-irretrievably-broken-marriage\/","url_meta":{"origin":368585,"position":4},"title":"&#8220;Deriving pleasure from difficulties &#038; tension of other is cruelty&#8221;: Madhya Pradesh HC grants divorce to woman after husband&#8217;s refusal despite irretrievably broken marriage","author":"Sonali Ahuja","date":"November 26, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"The Court remarked that when the other party opposes the prayer for divorce despite their being no possibility of them living together, such conduct of party deriving pleasure from difficulties and tension of the other party also amounts to cruelty.","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Husband Refused To Divorce","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Husband-Refused-To-Divorce.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Husband-Refused-To-Divorce.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Husband-Refused-To-Divorce.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Husband-Refused-To-Divorce.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":370070,"url":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/2025\/12\/17\/ker-hc-divorced-muslim-woman-maintenance-claim-halala-compliant-remarriage-scc-times\/","url_meta":{"origin":368585,"position":5},"title":"Divorced Muslim woman not entitled to maintenance under S. 125 CrPC without proof of Halala-compliant remarriage: Kerala High Court","author":"Ritu","date":"December 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"\u201cTo raise the presumption of a valid marriage for Section 125 of CrPC based on cohabitation, the couple must be qualified to marry and not be within the prohibited degrees of marriage.\u201d","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Case Briefs&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Case Briefs","link":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/post\/category\/casebriefs\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Divorced Muslim woman maintenance","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BLOG-2025-12-17T174012.834-1.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BLOG-2025-12-17T174012.834-1.webp?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BLOG-2025-12-17T174012.834-1.webp?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/BLOG-2025-12-17T174012.834-1.webp?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368585","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/67514"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=368585"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/368585\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/368586"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=368585"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=368585"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.scconline.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=368585"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}