Neha Lal vs Abhishek Kumar

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The petitioner-wife filed a Transfer Petition seeking transfer of perjury proceedings initiated by the respondent-husband from Family Court, Karkardooma, Delhi to Family Court, Lucknow, along with an application under Article 142 of the Constitution of India for dissolution of marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown. The parties had been married on 28.01.2012 and had been living separately since 02.04.2012, having cohabited for only 65 days, and had engaged in extensive and multifarious litigation against each other before several courts over the intervening decade.

The petitioner contended that the marriage had irretrievably broken down and that this Court should exercise its extraordinary jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve the marriage, placing reliance on the Constitution Bench judgment in Shilpa Sailesh vs Varun Sreenivasan. The respondent, appearing in-person, strongly opposed the application, asserting that the petitioner had filed false and frivolous cases against him, that divorce proceedings were already pending before trial courts, and that the petitioner's application under Article 142 was motivated by a desire to escape conviction in pending perjury proceedings.

The Court examined the extensive list of cases filed by both parties before trial courts and higher forums, noted the failure of mediation, and proceeded to consider whether the facts warranted exercise of jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution of India for dissolution of marriage on the ground of irretrievable breakdown, having regard to the principles laid down in Shilpa Sailesh vs Varun Sreenivasan.

Catchwords: Transfer petition matrimonial dispute irretrievable breakdown of marriage Article 142 Constitution of India dissolution of marriage perjury Section 340 CrPC Section 379 BNSS Section 125 CrPC maintenance Domestic Violence Act mediation living separately frivolous litigation extraordinary jurisdiction