Summary
The Court left the divorce decree undisturbed under Article 142 in view of the marriage’s irretrievable breakdown, while directing the father to pay Rs.50,000 monthly for the son through the mother from December 2019. The parents’ dispute and dissolution did not extinguish the child’s right to maintenance consistent with his father’s status. The Court prescribed payment of arrears, salary deduction of current maintenance and a fallback recovery mechanism through the Army authorities.
Issues
- Whether the divorce decree should be disturbed despite prolonged separation and irretrievable breakdown.
- What provision should be made for the son’s maintenance after dissolution of the marriage.
Provisions considered
- Article 142, Constitution of IndiaIn the circumstances of prolonged separation and reported remarriage, the Court left the divorce decree undisturbed on account of irretrievable breakdown. (¶ 5)
Held
- The courts below had recorded concurrent findings of cruelty and desertion. Given separation since May 2011 and the husband’s reported remarriage, the Court found no useful purpose in further examining those merits and left the decree undisturbed under Article 142. It did not expressly expunge the findings as the wife had alternatively requested. (¶¶ 3.2, 4, 5, 6)
- The child must not suffer from the parents’ dispute. The father’s responsibility to maintain his son through minority continued despite divorce, and the son was entitled to support consistent with the father’s status, including education. (¶ 5)
- Rs.50,000 per month was payable through the mother for the son from December 2019. Arrears through November 2021 were payable within eight weeks; current maintenance from December 2021 was to be deducted from salary and credited directly to the mother’s account, whose details she had to supply within one week. (¶ 6)
- If arrears were not paid within eight weeks, the Army authorities were to recover them in equal monthly instalments along with current maintenance, with the combined deduction not exceeding fifty per cent of total monthly pay and allowances. (¶ 6)
Result
Appeal disposed of. Divorce decree confirmed, with Rs.50,000 monthly maintenance for the son from December 2019, payment of arrears and salary-deduction directions as specified.