Section 15 of the Hindu Marriage Act and limitation rules were read to preserve appeal rights and exclude copy-obtaining time.

Section 15 of the Hindu Marriage Act was construed to cover decrees ending the marital relationship by court intervention, including a decree of nullity under Section 12 as well as a decree of divorce under Section 13, so a pending appeal was not rendered infructuous by the respondent's remarriage. The Limitation Act was held applicable to an appeal under Section 28 because the Act does not expressly exclude Sections 4 to 24 for appeals, and the time taken to obtain the certified copy had to be excluded in computing limitation. The courts below were set aside and the first appellate court was directed to hear the appeal on merits.

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Issues: (i) Whether Section 15 of the Hindu Marriage Act applies to a decree of nullity under Section 12 as well as to a decree of divorce under Section 13; (ii) Whether the Limitation Act applies to an appeal under Section 28 of the Hindu Marriage Act so that the time taken to obtain the certified copy is excluded in computing limitation.

Issue (i): Whether Section 15 of the Hindu Marriage Act applies to a decree of nullity under Section 12 as well as to a decree of divorce under Section 13.

Analysis: Section 15 does not define the expressions used in it, and Section 28 confers a right of appeal against all decrees passed in proceedings under the Act. Reading Section 15 with Section 28, the expression "dissolved by a decree of divorce" was held to cover every decree by which the marital relationship is brought to an end by court intervention, whether the decree is one of nullity under Section 12 or of divorce under Section 13. A narrower construction would make the statutory right of appeal under Section 28 dependent on the conduct of the successful party, which would be inconsistent with the scheme of the Act.

Conclusion: Section 15 applies to a decree of nullity under Section 12 as well as to a decree of divorce under Section 13, and the appeal could not be treated as infructuous merely because of the respondent's remarriage.

Issue (ii): Whether the Limitation Act applies to an appeal under Section 28 of the Hindu Marriage Act so that the time taken to obtain the certified copy is excluded in computing limitation.

Analysis: Section 28 prescribes a special appellate limitation for decrees under the Hindu Marriage Act, and Section 29(2) of the Limitation Act makes Sections 4 to 24 applicable to a special law unless expressly excluded. Section 29(3) was held to exclude the Limitation Act only for suits or original proceedings under marriage laws, not for appeals. As the Hindu Marriage Act does not expressly exclude Section 12(2), the time spent in obtaining the certified copy must be excluded while computing limitation for the appeal.

Conclusion: The Limitation Act applies to the appeal, and the appeal filed by the appellant was within time after exclusion of the period for obtaining the certified copy.

Final Conclusion: The orders of the courts below were set aside and the first appellate court was directed to hear the appeal on merits, so the appellant succeeded and the matter was remitted for fresh appellate adjudication.

Ratio Decidendi: Where the marital relationship is terminated by a decree under the Hindu Marriage Act, Section 15 is to be construed in harmony with the general right of appeal under Section 28, and the Limitation Act applies to such an appeal unless expressly excluded by the special law.

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