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Hitendra Manubhai Patel v. Kamaxi Hitendra Patel and Ors.

Criminal Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Criminal Appeal No. 605 of 2017)Decided 28 Mar 2017
Criminal Appeal No. 605 of 2017
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice R. Banumathi

Background

A husband and wife, both highly educated and parents of three children, had been embroiled in multiple rounds of litigation against each other in different forums. When the matter came before the Supreme Court, the Court sensed a possibility of amicable settlement and asked the parties, who were personally present, whether they would accept the help of a mediator. Both agreed, and the Court enlisted a senior counsel and a counsel present in court to mediate.

Decision Breakdown

The mediation succeeded, and the parties signed a settlement agreement on the same day (28 March 2017) before their respective counsel and the mediators. The Supreme Court made the settlement agreement part of its judgment and disposed of the appeal in terms of that agreement, directing the Registry to supply the parties a signed copy of it. The Court urged both parents to raise their children with love and mutual respect, and, to prevent further litigation between them, restrained both parties from initiating any fresh litigation against each other without the Court's leave.

Lesson Learnt

Even long-running, multi-forum matrimonial disputes can sometimes be resolved through court-facilitated mediation rather than continued adversarial litigation; once such a settlement is recorded and made part of a Supreme Court judgment, the parties can be barred from reopening the dispute in fresh proceedings without the Court's permission.

Official source (sci.gov.in)View Judgment (PDF)

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