In an appeal filed before the Supreme Court against a judgment dated 28-08-2024 by the Punjab and Haryana High Court whereby the order of the Family Court was set aside while granting a decree of divorce and awarding Rs. 30,00,000/- as permanent alimony to the wife, a Bench comprised of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta upheld the decree of divorce by the High Court and enhanced the permanent alimony to Rs. 50,00,000/-.
The parties in the present matter got married on 06-12-2008 in accordance with Hindu rites. At that time, the husband was undergoing training as a judicial officer at the Judicial Academy, Chandigarh whereas the wife was practicing as an Additional Advocate General. Thereafter, the husband was posted as a Judge of the Family Court at Jamnagar, Haryana and the wife had left her practice.
The husband filed a divorce petition under Section 13(1) (ia) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA) on grounds of cruelty, but withdrew the same and subsequently, filed another petition on 08-03-2019 on the same ground, which was returned for want of jurisdiction. Thereafter, on 05-10-2019, the husband instituted the petition before the competent court.
By order dated 11-04-2023, the Family Court dismissed the petition and held that the allegation of cruelty was not proved as it was actually the husband who had subjected the wife to cruelty. Aggrieved, the husband preferred an appeal before the High Court.
The High Court allowed the appeal and granted a permanent alimony to the wife. The High Court also directed that once the LIC policy purchased by the husband matures, Rs. 41,00,000/- must be deposited in their daughter’s account and that Rs. 30,000/- must be deposited in the daughter’s account until she can maintain herself. It was also directed that the husband would bear all expenses towards the marriage of the daughter and that he shall not disinherit her from his estate. Aggrieved, the wife filed the present appeal.
Considering the wife’s opposition to the dissolution of marriage, the Court stated that it was in the best interest of both parties if they lived apart since they had been living apart for more than thirteen years and since no substantial effort had been made to restore the relationship. While affirming that the marriage had broken beyond repair, the Court noted that the matrimonial relationship had become deeply embittered and acrimonious over the years and that the wellbeing of their 17-year-old daughter must remain paramount.
The Court stated that since the husband held a responsible public position, he had a heightened obligation to ensure fair, adequate, and dignified financial security for his wife and daughter. Thus, to ensure that the wife was placed in reasonable financial independence, the Court opined that the permanent alimony had to be enhanced to Rs. 50,00,000/- and directed the husband to pay the same within three months.
The Court upheld the remaining directions of the High Court and held that the enhanced permanent alimony should be treated as a full and final settlement of all claims arising out of the marital relationship. Further, the Court directed for all pending proceedings arising from the marriage to stand closed.
Thus, the appeal was disposed of.
Appearances:
For Appellant(s) – Mr. Amrendra Kumar Mehta, Ms. Pallavi Daem, Mr. Yash Singhal, Ms. Gunjan Kumari
For Respondent(s) – Mr. Sidharth Luthra, Mr. Anmol Kheta, Mr. Ankur Saigal, Ms. Tanya Srivastava, Ms. Anushree Kapooria
