Babulal Meghwal already had a divorce decree—so why is he back fighting the same marriage nearly 3 years later after Wife Amrita Meghwal challenged the notice process?

JALORE: The Family Court at Jalore has set aside the ex-parte divorce decree between former BJP MLA Amrita Meghwal and BJP SC Morcha District President Babulal Meghwal, after finding shortcomings in the process by which notice of the divorce proceedings was served upon Amrita.

The court found that Amrita had not been served notice in accordance with law and therefore had not had a proper opportunity to appear and present her case before the divorce decree was passed.

After the order, Babulal Meghwal reacted:

The matrimonial dispute dates back to 22 September 2022, when Babulal Meghwal filed a petition before the Jalore Family Court seeking dissolution of marriage under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act.

Notices in the divorce case were sent to Amrita's old address in Jaipur. However, the house was found locked, and the notices were repeatedly returned. Notices sent through registered post were also returned with the remark that the house was closed.

Thereafter, service was attempted by publishing the notice in a newspaper.

Amrita later approached the court, claiming that she did not reside at the address where the notices were sent and that she had no knowledge of the pending divorce proceedings.

After learning about the case, she applied for a copy of the proceedings on 13 June 2023 and subsequently moved an application on 5 July 2023 seeking cancellation of the ex-parte divorce decree.

After examining the record, the Family Court found a deficiency in the process used to serve notice.

The court noted that the premises where the notices were sent were repeatedly found locked and that registered notices were also returned because the house was closed.

In these circumstances, the court found that treating newspaper publication alone as sufficient service was not justified on the facts of the case.

The court consequently held that Amrita had not received proper notice and that she could not be deprived of an opportunity to put forward her case.

Family Court Presiding Officer Amar Verma (RJS) accepted Amrita Meghwal's application and set aside the ex-parte proceedings dated 4 May 2023, along with the judgment and divorce decree dated 7 June 2023.

The court directed that the divorce matter be registered again and taken up for further hearing.

Importantly, the order does not finally decide whether Babulal Meghwal is entitled to divorce. It effectively removes the earlier ex-parte decree and gives both parties another opportunity to contest the matrimonial case before the court.

Amrita Meghwal said that facts had earlier been incorrectly placed before the court and that she had now received relief after being heard again.

Babulal Meghwal maintained that the order did not finally determine the matrimonial dispute. According to him, the matter remained part of the legal process, and Amrita would now have an opportunity to participate and be heard.

He also referred to their daughter being with Amrita and said that he would pursue the issue through the legal process.

Amrita and Babulal Meghwal were married on 21 April 2008. Babulal is the son of Hemaram Meghwal and belongs to Norwa village in Jalore district, while Amrita is from Chanod in Pali. Big differences arose between them on 21 January 2019, following which they began living separately.

About three years later, Babulal approached the Family Court seeking divorce. Ex-parte proceedings followed, eventually resulting in the decree dated 7 June 2023.

The court has now set aside that decree. The Jalore Family Court will hear the divorce petition afresh with both sides having the opportunity to participate, meaning the underlying matrimonial dispute between Amrita Meghwal and Babulal Meghwal remains unresolved.

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CASE DETAILS

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Babulal Meghwal got divorce in 2023—nearly three years later, he is back fighting the same marriage again.
• The decree being set aside does not prove Babulal was wrong. It only reopens the case over defective notice service.
• For men, matrimonial litigation can have no real finish line—years of money, time and peace can disappear overnight.
• Fair hearing matters, but a broken marriage should not become an endless legal trap for a man.
• Babulal must now fight again for a divorce he had already secured. Sometimes the process itself becomes the punishment.