Supreme Court Dissolves Marriage Under Article 142 on Rs 35 Lakh Alimony, Quashes 18 Cases Between Families

The parties married in 2016 and have lived apart since 2022 (para 22). The wife sought the transfer to Mumbai of a criminal case filed against her by her father-in-law in Cuttack and of a domestic violence case filed by her mother-in-law (opening paragraph; para 2). While those petitions were pending, the husband applied under Article 142 for divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown and for quashing of all cases (para 5). Two rounds of mediation failed, but the wife later agreed to divorce by mutual consent, and on 05.08.2026 the Court fixed permanent alimony at Rs 35 lakh, up from the husband's initial offer of Rs 15 lakh (paras 10-11).

Following Shilpa Sailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan, the Court noted that it may grant divorce by mutual consent under Article 142(1) without relegating the parties to the family court, and may close all connected civil and criminal proceedings in terms of a settlement to do complete justice; whether to use the power depends on the facts, including whether the settlement is free and genuine and provides for alimony (para 20). Rinku Baheti adds that divorce for irretrievable breakdown is not a matter of right but a discretionary remedy where the marriage is deadlocked (para 21). Here the parties had married in 2016 and lived separately since 2022, a long list of cases had been filed by them and their families, mediation had twice failed, and a settlement was finally reached through the Court (para 22). The marriage had reached a dead end with no possibility of reconciliation, both parties agreed to divorce by mutual consent, and the agreed alimony had been paid in full (paras 12-14, 23-24). Both sides' lists of pending cases were consolidated into one table of 18 cases for quashing (paras 15-18).