Summary
The Supreme Court recorded a settlement reached through court-assisted mediation and dissolved the marriage by mutual consent. Given the prolonged litigation and the parties’ conscious decision to separate, it allowed their Section 10-A application without requiring the regular process. The settlement became part of the decree, with specific directions concerning permanent alimony, the child’s passport application and the disposal or quashing of related proceedings.
Issues
- Whether the mediated settlement should be incorporated into a mutual-consent divorce decree.
- What consequential directions were required to resolve the connected litigation and passport matters.
Held
- The settlement deed was taken on record and made part of the decree. In the particular background of prolonged litigation and conscious agreement to separate, the mutual-consent application was allowed without requiring the parties to undergo the regular process. (¶¶ 4, 5, 6)
- The Court directed that the Rs.1.25 crore permanent alimony paid under this settlement should not be treated as income for income-tax purposes. (¶ 7)
- The Passport Officer was directed to process the mother’s application for the minor child without rejecting it because of pending litigation now settled. The Rs.1 lakh deposited with the Regional Passport Officer was to be refunded to the mother. (¶¶ 8, 9)
- The specified writ petitions, family proceedings and certain criminal matters were disposed of; two High Court criminal miscellaneous cases were dismissed, and the criminal proceedings specified in paragraph 12 were quashed. Proceedings initiated under the passport law were to be dropped. (¶¶ 10, 11, 12, 13)
Result
Marriage dissolved by mutual consent; settlement incorporated into the decree. Connected proceedings resolved as specified, passport and refund directions issued, and pending applications disposed of.