Legal representatives cannot pursue divorce case on death of husband or wife: Punjab and Haryana High Court

The Punjab and Haryana High Court recently ruled that the legal representatives (LRs) of a person who has died during the pendency of a divorce case cannot be permitted to fight the case on their behalf..The Division Bench of Justice Sureshwar Thakur and Justice Sudeepti Sharma said there cannot be any succession to the marital union of a couple and thus there is no requirement to substitute a deceased party by his or her LRs.The Court made the observations while dismissing a substitution application moved by a woman who sought to be made a party to a divorce case in the place of her son, who had died during the pendency of his divorce case.“The foremost reason for dismissing the apposite application is grooved in the factum, that the marriage between marital partners, but obviously is a personal contract entered into between the spouses. The said contract remains alive only during the life span of the contracting parties, therebys the said contract terminates on the demise of one of the parties to the marital union (sic),” the Court said..It added that the appeal was required to be declared as abated as the marriage between the husband and wife was a personal contract. “Emphasisingly therebys the present applicant who is the mother of the deceased when is not a party to the contract, thereby when also she is not a privity to the personal contract of marriage entered into between her son and the respondent. Therefore, she is not bestowed with any right to, in the garb of hers seeking substitution in place of her deceased son, in the array of appellant(s), rather seek annulment of his marital ties with the respondent, whereas, she appears to intend to do so, in the garb of institution of the instant application (sic),” the Court said..In the present case, the husband had sought a divorce from a family court in Gurgaon in 2011. His petition was dismissed in 2014, leading to the filing of the present appeal. However, he died in 2022.Though the appeal was required to be declared as abated, the mother of the appellant moved an application to allow her to continue the case on her son’s behalf. However, the counsel representing the wife challenged the maintainability of such an application..The Court noted that the purpose of substitution of a party who has died is to ensure the continuation of proceedings. The Court added that such a course may be relevant where there is a contest with regard to the deceased person’s assets.“The principle underlying the said substitution is captured in the trite factum, that the estate of the deceased is required to be substituted. To the considered understanding of this Court, the relevant estate of the deceased, thus required to be substituted, thus on demise of the litigant concerned, thus by his/her LRs, but would be either movable or immovable assets, in respect whereof, there is a contest between the respective predecessors-in-interest, wheretos the apposite successors-in- interest or the legal heirs, thus may claim a right of succession (sic),” the Court said in this regard. However, the Court concluded that such a course cannot be opted for in a divorce case. "There cannot be any succession to the marital union entered into amongst the spouses concerned," the Court observed. .It thus dismissed the appeal. “In aftermath, on demise of the sole appellant-husband, the instant appeal stands dismissed as having become abated,” ordered the Court.Advocate SS Momi represented the appellant.