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Soni Kumari v. Deepak Kumar

Civil Appeal · Neutral citation not assigned (Civil Appeal No. 7164 of 2015)Decided 16 Sept 2015
Civil Appeal No. 7164 of 2015
Justice M.Y. Eqbal · Justice C. Nagappan

Background

A husband and wife who married in 2009 had been living separately since 2014 due to incompatibility, and jointly filed a first-motion petition for divorce by mutual consent before the Family Court, Saket, New Delhi, along with a settlement under which the wife would receive Rs. 15 lakhs in full and final settlement of all her claims. The Family Court allowed the first motion but refused to waive the mandatory six-month "cooling off" period before the second motion could be filed, partly because the husband was due to leave India for work and might not be able to return for one or two years. The wife appealed to the Supreme Court seeking a waiver of that six-month period.

Decision Breakdown

The Supreme Court allowed the appeal, holding that this was a fit case to invoke its special power under Article 142 of the Constitution (a power only the Supreme Court has, to do "complete justice" between parties) to waive the statutory six-month waiting period under Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act. The Court noted that the settlement amount had already substantially been paid, there was no collusion between the parties, and the husband's impending departure from India meant that insisting on the waiting period would only prolong the wife's distress without serving any purpose. The Court accordingly granted a decree of mutual divorce and declared the marriage dissolved with immediate effect.

Lesson Learnt

Ordinary courts and High Courts cannot excuse the mandatory six-month cooling-off period for a mutual-consent divorce, only the Supreme Court, using its special Article 142 power, can do so, and usually only where the settlement is genuine, uncontested and complete.

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

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