Man fools court, gets fake wife for divorce

The Supreme Court has upheld a Delhi high court order imposing heavy fine on a man who got another woman to impersonate his wife to get a mutual-consent divorce. HT reports.

The Supreme Court has upheld a Delhi high court order imposing heavy fine on a man who got another woman to impersonate his wife to get a mutual-consent divorce. The man also filed a forged mutual divorce petition stating both he and his wife were willing to part ways.

HT Image

A bench headed by Justice GS Singhvi dismissed an appeal filed by the man, challenging the high court order passed in August last year.

The court found no merit in the man's plea and said there was no infirmity in the HC verdict that had set aside the divorce decree passed by a trial court.

The appellant had not only got a woman to impersonate his wife but had also forged her signature and faked an advocate and an oath commissioner to divorce his wife.

On the basis of the forged documents, the trial court had accepted the man's divorce plea.

Laying down guidelines for subordinate courts, Justice Kailash Gambhir had in August 2012 imposed a hefty fine of Rs.2 lakh on him.

The court passed its order on an appeal filed by his wife who came to know about the divorce through her friend.

While hearing the matter as ordered by the high court after his real wife filed the second application, the matrimonial court found the man had persuaded a woman to masquerade as his wife.

The imposter wife not only forged the signature of his real wife, but also appeared before the court and was able to mislead the judge that she really was his wife. The man also faked a lawyer as the Bar

Council informed the Court that there was the lawyer who had filed the papers as the wife's counsel was not enrolled with it.

The matrimonial court, after becoming convinced about the fraud, later recalled its earlier order. The husband, however, challenged the trial court's power to recall its own order. His appeal was dismissed with exemplary fine.