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Rajasthan High Court · body

2022 DIGILAW 1535 (RAJ)

Mamta Baliyan v. State Of Rajasthan

2022-05-12

ARUN BHANSALI

body2022
JUDGMENT 1. This writ petition has been filed by the petitioner aggrieved against rejection of her candidature as divorcee for recruitment to the post of Teacher Grade III (Level-I) for TSP area. 2. It is inter-alia claimed that the petitioner and her husband mutually agreed to dissolve the marriage by agreement dated 17.09.2020 (Annex.5) and pursuant to the advertisement dated 31.12.2021, the petitioner applied for the post of Teacher Grade III (Level-I) claiming her status as divorcee. However, her candidature has been rejected vide Annex.6 inter-alia on the ground that her decree of divorce is dated 21.03.2022, which is after the last date of application. 3. Learned counsel for the petitioner made submissions that as the parties had dissolved their marriage by way of customary divorce by executing an agreement on 17.09.2020 (Annex.5), the respondents, were not justified in referring to the decree dated 21.03.2022 and as on the date of application/last date of application, the petitioner was a divorcee, her candidature on that count could not have been rejected by the respondents. 4. Submissions have been made that the decree dated 21.03.2022 has been obtained by the petitioner by filing application for mutual divorce on 09.03.2021 i.e. well before the advertisement was issued on 31.12.2021 and, therefore, merely on account of the fact that the decree has been granted on 21.03.2022, it cannot be said that the petitioner on the last date of filing of the application was not a divorcee and as such, the rejection of her candidature is not justified. 5. I have considered the submissions made by learned counsel for the petitioner and have perused the material available on record. 6. The advertisement dated 31.12.2021, inter-alia provided the following clarification pertaining to the women candidates:- fo/kok vkosnd gksus dh fLFkfr esa l{ke izkf/kdkjh }kjk tkjh ifr dh e'R;q dk izek.k&i= ,oa ifjR;drk efgyk fookg&fofPNu vkosnd gksus dh fLFkfr esa l{ke U;k;ky; }kjk tkjh fookg&foPNsn dh fMØh@vkns"k bl HkrhZ esa vkWuykbZu vkosnu dh vfUre frfFk ls iwoZ dk gksuk vfuok;Z gSA 7. The indications made in the advertisement were specific that for claiming the benefit of a divorce, the candidate was required to produce a decree of the competent Court, which must be before the last date of filing of the application. 8. The indications made in the advertisement were specific that for claiming the benefit of a divorce, the candidate was required to produce a decree of the competent Court, which must be before the last date of filing of the application. 8. The submissions made by learned counsel for the petitioner that as the petitioner has entered into a customary divorce with her husband on 17.09.2020 (Annex.5) in view of the material available on record, cannot be accepted. 9. Admittedly, the petitioner has filed the application under Section 13 B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 ('the Act of 1955') on 09.03.2021. A bare perusal of the judgment passed by the Family Court No.1, Jodhpur indicates that she has indicated her status as Mamta Baliyan D/o Harman Ram W/o Sh. Deepak Singh Chouhan, i.e. as on 09.03.2021, she was still married to Sh. Deepak Singh. 10. The very fact that the application has been filed under Section 13 B of the Act of 1955 presupposes that the parties were in subsisting marriage as the provisions of Section 13 B of the Act specifically provides that the petition for dissolution of marriage by decree of divorce may be presented to the Court by 'both the parties to a marriage together' and, therefore, it is apparent that on the date when the petitioner alongwith Deepak Singh Chouhan filed the petition i.e. on 09.03.2021 their marriage was subsisting. 11. Further the Family Court based on the petition filed under Section 13 B of the Act, has passed the following order:- 6- vr% izkFkhZx.k nhidflag ,oa eerk ckfy;ku dk izkFkZuk&i= vUrxZr /kkjk 13 ch fgUnw fookg vf/kfu;e 1955 Lohdkj fd;k tkdj izkFkhZx.k nhidflag ,oa eerk ckfy;ku ds e/; lEiUu gq;s fookg fnukad 23-05-2018 dks mudh ikjLifjd lgefr ds vk/kkj ij rRdky izHkko ls fo?kfVr fd;k tkrk gSA fu.kZ; vuqlkj fMØh ipkZ eqfrZc fd;k tkosA fMØh dh ,d&,d lR; izfr izkFkhZx.k dks fu%"kqYd iznku dh tkosA (emphasis added) 12. A perusal of the order indicates that the marriage has been dissolved forthwith, which necessarily mean that from the date of decree i.e. 21.03.2022, once the marriage has been dissolved by decree passed on 21.03.2022 under Section 13 B of the Act, the claim made by the petitioner regarding dissolution of marriage by agreement under customary law on 17.09.2020, has rightly not been accepted by the respondents. 13. 13. In view of the above fact situation as admittedly, the decree passed by the competent Family Court is dated 21.03.2022 and the last date of application was 09.02.2022, the petitioner could not claim her status as divorcee and is consequently, not entitled to any relief in her status as a divorcee. 14. Consequently, the petition has no substance, the same is, therefore, dismissed. S.B. Civil Writ Petition No. 3747/2022 The writ petition, in view of the order passed in SBCWP No.4787/2022, is also dismissed.