'Their Marriage Is Evidently A Dead Letter': Supreme Court Dissolves A Marriage Invoking Article 142 Powers

Their marriage is evidently a dead letter, the Supreme Court observed while dissolving a marriage invoking its jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution.

The court noted that, in this case, the parties have been living separately since May 2010 and have been engaged in legal proceedings against each other. 

"This Court has, in a catena of previous judgments, invoked its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve a marriage, such as in Sneha Parikh v. Manit Kumar. It is unnecessary to belabour the point by reproducing all these rulings", the bench of Justices CJI NV Ramana, Surya Kant and Hima Kohli observed.

In this case, the husband and mother in law had approached the Apex Court challenging the Calcutta High Court order  refusing to quash proceedings against them initiated by wife. The court  referred the matter to mediation at the Supreme Court Mediation Centre. The parties settled the issues between them and requested the Court to dissolve their marriage by mutual consent.

"In line with these consistent pronouncements, we consider it appropriate to grant the relief sought by the parties for mutual divorce. Appellant No. 1 and Respondent No. 2 have been estranged for over a decade, and the interests of their daughter have already been safeguarded in terms of the Additional Affidavit dated 8th October, 2021 by Appellant No. 1. The Mutual Consent Terms dated 5th August, 2021, also make it clear that neither party has any objection if this Court were to dissolve their marriage via exercise of its powers under Article 142.", the court observed in the order.

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