Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 – s.13B – Divorce by mutual consent – Appellant and respondent married in 1997, living separately since March 2011, were involved in various civil as well as criminal litigations – Application filed by parties u/s.13B also – Held: After several efforts for settlement, finally the parties have reached a settlement based on which they have sought divorce by mutual consent – Having regard to the background of the litigation and long separation between the parties, the parties have taken a conscious decision uninfluenced by any extraneous factor, therefore it is not necessary for them to wait for a further period of six months – Accordingly, the marriage between appellant and respondent is dissolved by a decree of divorce by mutual consent – In terms of the settlement, the entire litigations between the parties are also put to an end – Parties are directed to strictly abide by the terms of settlement and are also restrained from instituting any fresh litigation in respect of the subject matter without the leave of Supreme Court. Family Courts Act, 1984 – s.9 – Duty of Court – Discussed.
Disposing of the appeals, the Court
HELD: 1.1 The parties have cooperated with the tireless efforts taken by this Court. It is heartening to note that finally the parties have reached an amicable settlement. The terms of settlement have been stated in detail in Interlocutory Application No. 19210 of 2018, based on which the parties have sought for divorce by mutual consent. The said application shall form part of this Judgment. Having regard to the nature of the cases and having due regard to the settlement, it is in the interest of justice that the entire litigations between the parties are also put an end to, in terms of the settlement.[Paras 3, 4] [578-H; 579-A, C]
1.2 As all the disputes have been settled, it is not necessary to relegate the parties for another litigation before the Family Court. The parties are present before Supreme Court. Having regard to the background of the litigation and having regard to the long separation between the parties, the parties have taken a conscious decision, uninfluenced by any extraneous factor and therefore, it is not necessary for them to wait for a further period of six months. Accordingly, the marriage between the appellant and the respondent is dissolved by a decree of divorce by mutual consent. They are directed to strictly abide by the terms of settlement and are also restrained from instituting any fresh litigation in respect of the subject matter without leave of this Court. [Paras 9 and 10] [581-D-E]
2. Under Section 9 of the Family Courts Act, 1984, the Court has a duty to make an endeavour to assist and persuade the parties in arriving at a settlement. Unlike many other legislations, the Legislature has cast a duty on the Court in that regard. The jurisdiction is not just to decide a dispute, on the contrary, the court also has to involve itself in the process of conciliation/mediation between the parties for assisting them not only to settle the disputes but also to secure speedy settlement of disputes. Such timely intervention of the court will not only resolve the disputes and settle the parties peacefully but also prevent sporadic litigations between the parties. [Para 14] [582-C-D]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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