X v. Y
Background
The appellant and respondent, both well-educated and professionally qualified, had been locked in matrimonial disputes since 2009. With the assistance of a senior counsel appointed to mediate and the Court's own intervention, the parties reached an amicable settlement, recorded in a Joint Statement filed before the Court, and jointly applied for divorce by mutual consent under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.
Decision Breakdown
Considering the long period of separation between the parties, the fact that all disputes had been resolved by settlement, and that a sum of Rs. 85 lakh had already been paid to the respondent and the parties' major son as agreed, the Supreme Court held this was a fit case to invoke its special constitutional power under Article 142 to do complete justice. It accordingly dissolved the marriage by a decree of divorce by mutual consent directly, rather than requiring the parties to go through the usual statutory waiting period or lower-court process, and disposed of the appeal.
Lesson Learnt
When both spouses in a long-pending matrimonial dispute reach a genuine, fully-settled compromise, including on financial terms, the Supreme Court can use its special Article 142 power to grant an immediate divorce by mutual consent, sparing the parties further prolonged litigation.