- Supreme Court granted divorce and ordered man to transfer Rs 4 crore Mumbai flat to wife
- Criminal cases against man under Sections 498-A and 406 IPC were quashed by the court
- Court ruled marriage had irretrievably broken down after eight years of acrimony
The Supreme Court on Tuesday granted divorce to an estranged couple while directing the man to hand over his Rs 4 crore Mumbai flat to the estranged wife.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justices K Vinod Chandran and N V Anjaria also quashed the criminal proceedings initiated against the man under Sections 498-A (subjecting woman to cruelty), 406 (criminal breach of trust) read with Section 34 of IPC observing they were banal and vague without any specific instances.
The supreme court said the acrimonious relation between the parties for the last eight years without any let-up and the multiple legal proceedings pending, clearly indicated their partnership had "irretrievably broken down".
"We also allow the application filed under Article 142 of the Constitution of India dissolving the marriage between the appellant and the second respondent finding the marriage to have irretrievably broken down, in the best interest of both the parties and for doing complete justice," the bench said.
It said further claim of alimony is not justified, especially looking at the appellant's unemployed status.
The top court directed the man, a former banker, to deposit the arrears to the housing society up to September 1, 2025, towards maintenance charges for the apartment.
"Appellant shall execute a gift deed on or before August 30, 2025 on any date informed by written notice; by the appellant to the respondent, with due acknowledgment taken. We have seen from the records that the draft of the deed was exchanged between the parties and both the appellant and the respondent 2 shall be present before the jurisdictional Registrar for execution and registration on the date notified," the bench said.
In case the estranged wife did not turn up, the jurisdictional registrar was directed to acknowledge and record the presence of the man following which they should appear before the registrar on September 15, 2025 for the deed's execution.
"If the appellant does not comply with the above, then the order of divorce shall not come into effect. However, if the respondent does not present herself on the date notified by the appellant and on such failure even on the date specified by us, the divorce shall come into effect," the bench cautioned.
The top court held all proceedings, civil and criminal, initiated by the parties to the marriage, which was now dissolved, to stand closed.
"There shall also be no further proceedings, both civil and criminal instituted, by the respective parties, on any aspect arising out of in relation to the marriage," the bench said.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
