Marriage Irretrievably Broken Down: SC Directs Husband To Pay ₹13L As Alimony To Employed Wife While Dissolving Marriage
The Supreme Court while dissolving a marriage directed the husband to pay ₹13 Lakh as permanent alimony to the employed wife.
The Court was considering a Transfer Petition pending before the Court of the Principal Judge, Family Courts, Roorkee, Uttarakhand to the Family Court, Patiala House Courts, New Delhi.
The bench of Justice BR Gavai, Justice Aravind Kumar and Justice KV Vishwanathan observed, “continuation of the legal relationship would be unjustified and would not subserve the interest of the parties….”
Brief Facts-
The Respondent-husband filed for divorce under Section 13(1)(i-a) of the Hindu Marriage Act, alleging that the Petitioner-wife breached trust by being in a relationship with another and neglecting family responsibilities, especially after starting a teaching job. The Petitioner-wife claimed she moved to her parental home due to the husband’s neglect of her and their daughter. The Court referred the matter to mediation, but a report confirmed that the mediation had failed. The Court on an earlier occasion also noted that the marriage had irretrievably broken down.
The Court mentioned the decision in Shilpa Sailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan where according to the Court it was held, “this Court can depart from the procedure as well as the substantive laws, as long as the decision is exercised based on considerations of fundamental, general and specific public policy.”
“It also held that in exercise of power under Article 142(1) of the Constitution of India, this Court has the discretion to dissolve the marriage on the ground of its irretrievable breakdown, and this discretionary power is to be exercised to do ‘complete justice’ to the parties, when this Court is satisfied that the facts established show that the marriage has completely failed and there is no possibility that the parties will cohabit together, and continuation of the formal legal relationship is unjustified.”, the Court noted further.
Accordingly, the Court disposed of the Petition.
Cause Title: Sapna Negi v. Chaman Singh (Neutral Citation: 2024 INSC 822)
