Husband Remarried Before Divorce Decree Was Reversed: Supreme Court Grants Divorce Subject To Payment Of ₹ 1.25 Cr Alimony

The Supreme Court, while granting divorce invoking powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, has made the same subject to payment of Permanent Alimony of Rs. 1.25 Crores, since the husband had remarried before the High Court reversed the order of divorce by the Family Court.

The Court was considering an Appeal against an order of the High Court whereby the divorce granted by the Family Court was set aside at the Wife’s instance.

The Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta held, “We are of the considered view that this is a fit case for granting divorce by invoking our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution. Accordingly, the marriage solemnized on 15.02.2009 stands dissolved."

The Appellant husband was represented by Advocate S. Nagamuthu, while the Respondent was represented by Advocate-on-Record Anup Kumar.

Facts of the Case

The marriage between the parties was solemnised in 2009 and they had a son in 2010. The Appellant- Husband filed for Divorce in 2012 on the grounds of cruelty and adultery. The Family Court granted the divorce on the grounds of cruelty as the ground of adultery remained unfounded. Later, on the Appeal of Respondent-Wife, the High Court set aside the Divorce Decree. It was observed that the principal instance of cruelty accepted by the Family Court was the rude utterances of the Respondent-Wife’s father and while such utterances may have agitated the Appellant-Husband, the Respondent-Wife could not be held liable for them.

Reasoning By Court

The Court noted that mediation efforts between the parties failed and that there is no possibility of reconciliation between them.

"They have been living separately since 2010, for nearly 15 years. There is no vestige of matrimonial relationship between them, and neither party has shown any inclination to resolve their differences. Furthermore, the appellant-husband has been remarried since 05.03.2017. In these circumstances, we see no purpose in continuing the legal relationship between the parties. The marriage has irretrievably broken down," the Court held.

It also awarded permanent alimony of ₹1,25,00,000/- to the wife.

"The marriage between the parties stands dissolved by exercise of this Court’s power under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, subject to the condition that the appellant-husband shall pay the aforesaid sum of ₹1,25,00,000/- (Rupees One Crore Twenty-Five Lakhs only) to the respondent-wife as permanent alimony. A decree shall be drawn upon furnishing of proof before the Registry that such payment has been made", the Court ruled.

The Appeal was accordingly allowed.

Cause Title: A. RanjitaKumar vs. E. Kavitha

Appearances:

Appellant- Advocate S. Nagamuthu, Advocate C. Paramasivam, Advocate-on-Record M.p. Parthiban, Advocate Priyaranjani Nagamuthu, Advocate Bilal Mansoor, Advocate Shreyas Kaushal, Advocate S. Geyolin Selvam, Advocate Alagiri K, Advocate Shivansh Sharma.

Respondent- Advocate-on-Record Anup Kumar, Advocate Shruti Singh, Advocate Shivam Kumar, Advocate Neha Jaiswal

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