Appeal withdrawal relates back on filing; marriage during pending divorce appeal was upheld as valid

Withdrawal of an appeal is complete when the appellant unequivocally communicates the intention to abandon it, so the withdrawal relates back to the date the application is filed. Applying that principle, a later order only records an already completed withdrawal. On remarriage after a divorce decree, the statutory bar applies only until the decree becomes final or the appeal is dismissed; where the appeal had effectively been abandoned and the statute contained no express declaration of nullity, the later marriage was not void. The High Court's declaration of nullity was therefore set aside and the marriage upheld as valid.

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Issues: (i) Whether dismissal of the appeal related back to the date on which the application for withdrawal was filed. (ii) Whether a marriage solemnised during the pendency of the appeal against a decree of divorce was void.

Issue (i): Whether dismissal of the appeal related back to the date on which the application for withdrawal was filed.

Analysis: A party has an unconditional right to withdraw an appeal, and such withdrawal is complete when the intention to withdraw is communicated to the court. Once the appellant filed the withdrawal application and had no further intention to prosecute the appeal, the subsequent formal order merely recorded an already completed withdrawal.

Conclusion: The appeal was treated as withdrawn from the date the withdrawal application was filed.

Issue (ii): Whether a marriage solemnised during the pendency of the appeal against a decree of divorce was void.

Analysis: Section 15 permits remarriage only after the decree of divorce has become final or the appeal has been dismissed. The provision is intended to protect the contesting spouse and to prevent complications if the decree is reversed. On a purposive construction, where the parties had settled and the appeal was no longer being pursued, the bar on remarriage did not justify treating the later marriage as void. The absence of any express statutory declaration of nullity was also significant.

Conclusion: The marriage was not void under Section 5(i) read with Section 11 of the Act.

Final Conclusion: The High Court's declaration of nullity was set aside and the marriage was upheld as valid.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute permits remarriage only after dismissal of an appeal, a withdrawal application that unequivocally abandons the appeal takes effect from the date it is filed, and in the absence of an express provision declaring nullity, a marriage contracted after such abandonment is not void.

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