Divorce Act, 1869 – s.10-A – Matrimonial Dispute – Court assisted mediation and conciliation – Held: Having regard to the entire background of the long drawn litigation between the parties and the fact that they have taken a conscious decision to part, there is no need for them to go through the regular process – Marriage between the appellant and the respondent is dissolved by decree of divorce by mutual consent – Deed of settlement to form part of the decree – Application u/s.10-A, 1869 Act is allowed – Since the parties have settled the dispute, the Passport Officer concerned is directed to process the application duly filed by the respondent-mother for the minor child and Rs.1,00,000/- deposited with the Regional Passport Officer, Thiruvananthapuram to be refunded to the respondent – Various cases pending between the parties are disposed of/dismissed/quashed.
Disposing of the matters, the Court
HELD: 1.1 The deed of settlement shall form part of the decree. Having regard to the entire background of the long drawn litigation between the parties and having regard to the fact that they have taken a conscious decision to part, there is no need for the parties to go through the regular process. Therefore, their application under Section 10-A of the Divorce Act, 1869 is allowed and their marriage is dissolved by a decree of divorce by mutual consent. The amount of Rs.1.25 crore paid by the husband to the wife by way of permanent alimony shall not be treated as income for the purpose of income tax. [Paras 6, 7][390-C-E]
1.2 Since the parties have settled the dispute, the Passport Officer concerned is directed to process the application duly filed by the respondent-mother for the minor child. The application shall not be rejected on the ground of any pending litigation, since the parties have settled all the disputes. Since the parties have settled the dispute, the amount of Rs.1,00,000/- deposited with the Regional Passport Officer Thiruvananthapuram shall be refunded to the respondent. [Paras 8, 9][390-E-F]
1.3 In view of the settlement by the parties, the cases filed before the High Court of Kerala and the case pending before the Family Court, Tiruvalla are disposed of. The cases pending before the Judicial First Class Magistrate, Thiruvalla and Judicial First Class Magistrate, Ranni are disposed of. The cases pending before the High Court of Kerala in Crl.M.C.No.7353/2015and Crl.M.C.No.3194/2017 are dismissed. The cases pending before the Judicial First Class Magistrate Court-XI, Thiruvananthapuram and Judicial First Class Magistrate, Thiruvalla, Kerala are quashed. All proceedings initiated under the Indian Passport Act shall be dropped. [Paras 11-14][391-A-C]
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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