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Nikhil Kumar v. Rupali Kumar

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 4490 of 2016)Decided 27 Apr 2016
Civil Appeal No. 4490 of 2016
Justice Kurian Joseph · Justice Rohinton Fali Nariman

Background

The appellant-husband and respondent-wife, married in 2011, had been largely living separately for about five years and jointly filed a mutual-consent divorce petition before the Family Court, Tis Hazari, Delhi in March 2016. The Family Court granted the first motion but listed the second motion only for October 2016, by when the mandatory six-month "cooling off" period under Section 13-B(2) would ordinarily have to pass. The wife, however, had made plans to relocate to New York for work by 29 April 2016 and would not be able to return to India within that window, prompting the husband to approach the Supreme Court to waive the waiting period.

Decision Breakdown

The wife appeared in person and filed an affidavit confirming the marriage had been unhappy since the start, that both parties had freely and consciously decided to separate, and that she genuinely could not return to India within six months. Considering both parties' educational background, maturity, and the free and informed nature of their decision, the Supreme Court held this was an appropriate case to invoke its special constitutional power under Article 142 to do complete justice. It allowed the appeal, waived the statutory six-month waiting period, and directly dissolved the marriage, with a copy of the judgment to be sent to the Family Court; no costs were awarded.

Lesson Learnt

While the law normally requires a mandatory six-month cooling-off period before a mutual-consent divorce is finalized, the Supreme Court can waive this waiting period in genuine, practical hardship situations, such as one spouse relocating abroad, using its special constitutional power to do complete justice, provided both spouses are freely and clearly on the same page about ending the marriage.

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

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