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Judgment
We have heard Mr. Brij Bihari Tiwari assisted by Mr. Radhe Shyam Kumar for the appellant/husband/ Tripurari Chaudhary @ Rohit Chaudhary and Ms. Mamta Kumari for the respondent/wife/Panna Chaudhary @ Panna.
The present appeal has been filed against the final order dated 30.05.2019 under Section 125 of the Cr.P.C. directing the appellant/husband to pay a monthly amount of Rs. 30,000/- to the respondent/wife as her matrimonial dues along with a litigation cost of Rs. 10,000/-.
Be it noted that the order so passed by the Family Court was ex-parte.
The refrain of the appellant/husband is that he had never ever been the served the notice in the 125 Cr.P.C. proceeding for contesting the same. However, during the pendency of this appeal and the criminal case in which the appellant/husband has been granted conditional anticipatory bail, negotiations took place between the spouses and their family members and ultimately, it was resolved by them that they must part ways amicably, as the marriage had never been consummated and their did not appear to be any possibility of any rapprochement between the spouses.
In order to fully ascertain ourselves about the correctness of the statement made on behalf of the parties, we directed for the appearance of the spouses but, it was informed by the learned counsel for the appellant/husband that he has suffered an accident and it would not be possible for him to physically attend the Court.
Nonetheless, the respondent/wife has appeared pursuant to such direction and we have interacted with her separately and also in front of her lawyer.
We have probed into the matter and have come to the conclusion that the decision to part ways is voluntary and not without any threat or coercion. The parties have decided that on the payment of Rs. 15,00,000/- in one go, the spouses shall file a petition before the Family Court for divorce by mutual consent. They have also prayed before us that the statutory period for disposing of such application be waived as six years have passed by and the marriage has not been consummated. They have taken a conscious decision of separating.
Under such circumstances, it has been urged that no useful purpose would be served in waiting for the cooling-off period.
It has further been submitted that both the spouses are of young age and it would only be fruitful for them to lead their independent lives with clean slate. It has also been agreed upon between the parties that with the passing of the decree of divorce by mutual consent, the respondent/wife shall withdraw the criminal case against the appellant/husband and his family members in which case cognizance has already been taken.
The learned counsel for the appellant/husband had, on the last occasion, took sometime for arranging for Rs. 15,00,000/-.
Today, a draft in the name of the respondent/wife drawn on State Bank of India (574203) has been brought by the learned counsel for the appellant/husband. The same is handed over to the respondent/wife in presence of Ms. Mamta Kumari, her advocate, who has accompanied her.
This payment shall be towards all the matrimonial dues of the respondent/wife and she in future shall not demand any monetary benefits from the appellant/husband.
It is also relevant to state that the order of the Family Court of making monthly payment of Rs. 30,000/-towards her matrimonial dues has been cleared up-to-date and a total amount of Rs. 13,00,000/- has been given by the appellant/husband to the respondent/wife and only on payment of such amount, the husband had been granted anticipatory bail.
Thus, both the parties desire that this application be disposed of with a direction to the Family Court that in the event a petition under Section 13B of the Hindu Marriage Act is filed by the parties within a period of three weeks, the Family Court, after recording necessary facts and observing all the necessary formalities, shall pass a decree of divorce by mutual consent.
The entire proceeding must be concluded as expeditiously as possible.
This direction is being given only for the reason that the spouses are of young age and they need to explore new vistas for leading their separate and independent lives.
The respondent/wife is directed to append her signature in the order-sheet in the right hand column in token of having received the demand draft of Rs. 15,00,000/-.
The passport of the respondent/wife has also been returned by the appellant/husband which is also being handed over to the respondent/wife.
With the aforenoted observation and direction, the appeal stands disposed of.