A woman said last month that she had no idea that her husband had divorced her until a friend asked her how she was enjoying divorced life.

She took the matter to court and was successful in having the divorce absolute set aside so that she and her husband are still married.

The husband did not comply with the law before he divorced his wife and married overseas.

False declarations

It turned out that the husband had made false declarations to get the divorce and so the judge set aside the divorce.

The Matrimonial Causes Act states that the couple must be living separate and apart for at least one year before a divorce petition can be filed in the Supreme Court.

It turned out that the husband had filed the petition days after he left the matrimonial home.

Several persons who heard about the case are wondering whether criminal charges could be brought against the husband.

The husband can be charged with bigamy, but it is the wife who has the responsibility to report the matter to the police.

In order to prove the charge, the wife will have to present a copy of her marriage certificate along with the marriage certificate which was obtained when the husband remarried.

Section 5 of the Matrimonial Causes Act states that a petition for a decree of dissolution of marriage shall only be made if the court is satisfied that the parties separated and lived separately and apart for a continuous period of not less than twelve months before the filing of the divorce petition.