Mansi Khatri vs. Gaurav Khatri
Background
The wife had filed a petition seeking transfer of the husband's divorce petition from the Family Court in Indore, Madhya Pradesh, to Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. Alongside this, the wife's father had lodged an FIR against the husband under Section 498A IPC (cruelty) and the Dowry Prohibition Act, and the wife had filed a maintenance case under Section 125 CrPC. During Supreme Court mediation, the parties failed to reach a full settlement but both indicated willingness for a mutual consent divorce, with the only real dispute being the amount of permanent alimony: the wife sought Rs. 70 lakh while the husband offered Rs. 25 lakh.
Decision Breakdown
Examining the financial position of both parties (the wife having virtually no income or assets and being dependent on her father, the husband earning about Rs. 87,538 take-home per month with various savings and a car loan), the Court found the marriage had suffered an irretrievable breakdown. Exercising its special power under Article 142 of the Constitution to do complete justice, it granted a decree of mutual consent divorce, quashed the FIR and the maintenance case, and directed that the pending divorce petition stand withdrawn. It fixed permanent alimony at Rs. 35 lakh, payable within six months, and made clear that if the amount was not paid in time, the quashed FIR and maintenance case would automatically stand revived.
Lesson Learnt
The Supreme Court can use its Article 142 power to cut through multiple pending matrimonial proceedings (FIR, maintenance case, divorce petition) at once and grant a clean, comprehensive resolution when both spouses are genuinely willing to part ways, but such relief can be conditioned on compliance (like timely payment of alimony) to ensure fairness to the more financially vulnerable party.