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Section 30: Remarriage of divorced persons

Special Marriage Act • Official Statutory Text & Practice Guide

Statutory Regulation
Legal Standard
Competent Court / Tribunal
Act 1954
Section 29 All 51 Sections of Special Marriage Act Section 31

Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 30

Section 30 regulates the lawful right of divorced persons to remarry following the dissolution of a civil marriage under the Special Marriage Act, establishing limitation-linked waiting rules.

  • Dissolution Prerequisite: Applies where a marriage has been dissolved by a decree of divorce and either there is no right of appeal against the decree, or the time for appealing has expired without an appeal having been presented.
  • Appellate Pendency Bar: If an appeal has been presented within limitation, the right to remarry remains suspended until that appeal has been heard and dismissed.
  • Equal Rights of Remarriage: Either party to the dissolved marriage may remarry lawfully once the statutory conditions are met.
Key Landmark Precedents:
  • Lila Gupta v. Laxmi Narain (1978) 3 SCC 258: The Supreme Court ruled that a marriage contracted before the expiration of the statutory appeal period is not void ab initio; statutory waiting provisions are designed to protect appellate rights rather than invalidate second unions.
  • Tejinder Kaur v. Gurmit Singh (1988) 2 SCC 90: Held that an ex-parte divorce decree cannot be used as an instrument of fraud by hasty remarriage to render a spouse's statutory appeal infructuous.
Courtroom Practice & Strategic Litigation Guidance:

Always advise clients to wait until the full 90-day appeal period under Section 39 has elapsed, and obtain a non-appeal certificate or verified filing inspection report from the appellate court registry, before solemnizing a second marriage under Section 30.

Section 29 All 51 Sections of Special Marriage Act Section 31