Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 – s.13(1)(ia) – Divorce on grounds of cruelty – Family Court granted divorce on grounds of cruelty – The High Court, by the impugned judgment, affirmed the decree of divorce – Before this Court, the appellant-wife has confined her claim to seeking an amount of Rs.10,00,000/towards the marriage expenses of their daughter: Held: It is evident that the marital relationship between the parties has ceased to exist in substance – Even an attempt at mediation proved unsuccessful – In view of the long separation and irretrievable breakdown of the marriage, there is no reason to interfere with the decree of divorce granted by the Family Court and affirmed by the High Court – As far as expense towards marriage of daughter is concerned, the respondent is capable of making provision for his daughter’s marriage – The appellant-wife has been reasonable in limiting her claim – It is a father’s duty to provide for his children, and meeting the marriage expenses of his daughter is a modest obligation – This Court is of the considered view that the respondent can and should contribute Rs.10,00,000/- for this purpose as meeting the reasonable expenses of his daughter’s marriage is a natural extension of his duty as a parent, irrespective of differences with the spouse – Accordingly, the respondent-husband is directed to pay an amount of Rs.10,00,000/- to the appellant-wife towards the marriage expenses of their daughter – In case of default, the Registry to revive these appeals – The decree of divorce granted by the Trial Court and affirmed by the High Court stands affirmed subject to the direction issued. [Paras 7, 8, 9, 10, 12]
As published in the Supreme Court Reports, Supreme Court of India. Headnotes prepared by: Ankit Gyan. Text from the Indian Supreme Court Judgments open data set (Dattam Labs), CC BY 4.0.
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