Supreme Court Invokes Article 142 To Convert Divorce Granted Due To Desertion To Divorce By Mutual Consent

The Supreme Court, while considering the case of a Wife employed abroad, has converted the grounds of divorce from desertion to mutual consent.

The Court was considering an Appeal filed by the wife against an order whereby the High Court had affirmed the decree of divorce granted by the Family Court to Husband on the ground of desertion.

The Bench of Justice Sandeep Mehta and Justice Vikram Nath held, "......the respondent-husband fairly stated that the respondent-husband is also agreeable to the marriage being dissolved by mutual consent, and has no objection to the exercise of this Court’s powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, instead of sustaining the decree on the ground of desertion."

The Appellant was represented by Senior Advocate Nikhil Goel, while the Respondent was represented by Advocate Rajiv Kumar Choudhry.

At the time of marriage, the Appellant-wife was employed with Infosys and was residing in the United States of America. In February 2017, she returned to India and thereafter commenced cohabitation with the Respondent-Husband in Bangalore, India. Differences subsequently arose between the parties.

In the year 2021, the Appellant-Wife was deputed by her employer to the United States and accordingly, she travelled abroad. On May 09, 2022, the Respondent-Husband filed Petition under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 seeking dissolution of marriage on the ground of desertion.

It was averred that the Appellant-Wife had left the matrimonial home during the intervening night of 24th–25th January 2020 and had not returned thereafter, thereby deserting the Respondent-Husband for a continuous period exceeding two years

The Appellant-Wife had contested the said proceedings, asserting that she had left the matrimonial home on January 19, 2020 to visit her brother due to an allegedly hostile environment created by the Respondent-Husband, including demands for money.

During the course of hearing, the Senior Counsel for the Appellant-Wife submitted that the Appellant-Wife is agreeable to a decree of divorce by mutual consent.

However, it was contended that the decree ought not to be founded on the ground of desertion, as according to the Appellant-Wife, she had not abandoned the Respondent-Husband and had left India on account of her professional obligations, while remaining open to communication.

The Court agreed to it and also observed that the marriage has irretrievably broken down, and there remains no scope for restoration of the matrimonial bond.

The Appeal was accordingly disposed of.

Cause Title: Bhagyashree Bisi v. Animesh Padhee

Appearances:

Appellant- Senior Advocate Nikhil Goel, Advocates Raunaq Dalal, Shourajeet Chakrawarty and Aprajita Bhardwaj

Respondent- Advocate Rajiv Kumar Choudhry and Advocate-on-Record Chritarth Palli

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