The Madhya Pradesh High Court recently expressed dismay over the exploitation of women who remarry without obtaining a divorce. The court highlighted the “legal loopholes” that hinder a woman who remarries without divorcing her previous husband from seeking maintenance under Section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC). Justice Prem Narayan Singh, presiding over the high court bench, remarked that despite the provision’s aim to promote social justice, it falls short in preventing the exploitation it aims to address.
“This Court finds it unfortunate that many women, specially those belonging to the poorer strata of society, are routinely exploited in this manner, and that legal loopholes allow the offending parties to slip away unscathed and unquestioned,” the court stated.