Supreme Court - Daily OrdersGopesh Deka vs Phul Kumari Deka on 19 July, 20221\n\n\n\n\n                                        IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA\n\n                                        CIVIL APPELLATE JURISDICTION\n\n                                        CIVIL APPEAL NO. 4804            /2022\n\n                                             [@ SLP [C] NO.13735/2019]\n\n\n\n                               GOPESH DEKA                               Appellant(s)\n\n                                                          VERSUS\n\n                               PHUL KUMARI DEKA                          Respondent(s)\n\n\n                                                       O R D E RLeave granted.The parties to the present proceedings are husband\n\n                         and wife and got married on 05.08.2011 and a male child\n\n                         was born to them on 01.09.2012.                 It appears that the\n\n                         relationship   inter     se   the   parties     soured      at   an    early\n\n                         stage resulting in filing of a petition by the appellant\n\n                         seeking grant of divorce alleging cruelty underSection\n\n                         13(1)(ia)of the Hindu Marriage Act.There were of course usual allegations of behaving in\n\n                         a rude manner with the appellant, his parents and sisters\n\n                         etc. apart from the sister of the appellant lodging an\n\n                         FIR    regarding    an   assault    on    her   by    the    respondent.\nSignature Not Verified\n\n\n                         Similar   allegations     were     made   qua   the     parents       of   the\nDigitally signed by\nASHA SUNDRIYAL\nDate: 2022.07.25\n16:48:13 IST\nReason:appellant.     The respondent is stated to have left the\n\n                         home even before the child was born i.e. on 30.12.2011.2The proceedings were contested by the respondent and\n\nthe    Family   Court       dismissed          the    divorce     petition      on\n\n26.05.2017.     The appellant preferred an appeal before the\n\nGauhati      High     Court       which        was    also      dismissed       on\n\n26.03.2019.In the present proceedings there was a dual aspect\n\nhighlighted i.e. that the parties have been staying apart\n\nfor   more    than    a    decade        and    thus,     the    marriage      had\n\nirretrievably        broken       down.        Learned    counsel     for     the\n\nappellant pleaded for divorce on grounds of irretrievable\n\nbreakdown of marriage seeking to invoke the jurisdiction\n\nof this Court underArticle 142of the Constitution of\n\nIndia.    The   second          aspect     pointed       out    was   that    the\n\nrespondent had lodged an FIR on 09.01.2012 against the\n\nhusband   for       unlawful      demands        of   dowry     and   in     those\n\nproceedings a conclusion was reached by the Additional\n\nChief Judicial Magistrate on 09.12.2014 in GR Case No.361\n\nof 2012 that the prosecution had failed to prove the case\n\nbeyond reasonable doubt. It is thus, the submission of\n\nlearned counsel for the appellant that making such false\n\nallegations itself amounts to cruelty.We have put to learned counsel for the parties, more\n\nso, the respondent that he should revert back on taking\n\ninstructions from the respondent on the conspectus of the\n\naforesaid     facts       as,    in      our    view,     the    marriage     has\n\ncertainly irretrievably broken down apart from the issue\n\nof the proceedings initiated for dowry not succeeding on3grounds of benefit of doubt to the appellant. We have\n\n          also    called         for     the    emoluments         being       received          by    the\n\n          appellant as also his monthly statement.                                  The emoluments\n\n          are    stated          to    be    about      Rs.37,000/-           per    month       and     at\n\n          present          the        interim      maintenance           is     being        paid        at\n\n          Rs.7,000/- per month.                 It appears that the respondent is\n\n          not willing to see the ground reality and thus, we are\n\n          called upon to adjudicate the issue in the conspectus of\n\n          the aforesaid facts.In our view, there is something to be said about the\n\n          claim       of     the        appellant        that          the    making        of        false\n\n          allegations            of     dowry      by    the      respondent          itself          would\n\n          amount to cruelty but then we are not required to examine\n\n          this issue in detail as we are of the view that in any\n\n          case the marriage has irretrievably broken down with the\n\n          parties      living           apart      for    more         than     10    years.          Such\n\n          prolonged          separation            itself         is     the        proof    of        the\n\n          irretrievable breakdown of marriage.1\n\n                We    are        thus,       inclined        to    grant        divorce          to    the\n\n          appellant dissolving the marriage inter se the parties on\n\n          grounds of irretrievable breakdown of marriage invoking\n\n          our jurisdiction underArticle 142of the Constitution of\n\n          India.Now    coming           to   the     issue        of     maintenance         for        the\n\n          respondent and the child who is now about 10 years of\n\n          age.       On the basis of the submissions recorded before us\n\n1   [Sivasankaran v. Santhimeenal – Civil Appeal Nos.4984-4985/2021 dated 13.09.2021]4and   instructions       obtained         from      the     appellant,      we   are\n\ninclined to fix the amount towards maintenance of the\n\nrespondent-wife and the child at a lumpsum of Rs.10 lakh\n\nin full and final satisfaction of all her claims. The\n\narrears of maintenance, if any, would have to be cleared\n\nup to the month of July, 2022. In view of the request by\n\nlearned counsel for the appellant, we grant one month’s\n\ntime to clear all arrears of interim maintenance. The\n\namount      of   Rs.10   lakh      will       be    paid     in    the    following\n\nmanner:(1) The first installment of Rs.2.5 lakh will be\n\n      paid on or before 30.09.2022.(2)   The    remaining       three      installments          of    Rs.2.5\n\n      lakh each would be paid on or before 30.11.2022,\n\n      on    or     before     31.01.2023            and      on    or     before\n\n      31.03.2023.The    appellant       can    always           make     payment      of    the\n\ninstallments earlier, if the arrangements are so made.\n\nThe decree of divorce shall, however, be issued to the\n\nappellant and will become operative on payment of the\n\naforesaid amounts for which the appellant will file proof\n\nbefore this Court.The    appeal      accordingly,              stands    allowed       in    the\n\naforesaid terms leaving parties to bear their own costs.In    view    of      the    aforesaid           order,       the     interim\n\nmaintenance stands concluded at Rs.7,000/- per month and\n\nthe        proceedings        before           the          High        Court      in5Crl.Rev.P./13/2022- Gopesh Deka v. Phul Kumari Deka shall\n\nstand disposed of.………………………………………..J.[SANJAY KISHAN KAUL]\n\n\n                                      ………………………………………..J.[M.M. SUNDRESH]\nNEW DELHI;JULY 19, 2022.6ITEM NO.13                 COURT NO.5                SECTION XIV\n\n                S U P R E M E C O U R T O F      I N D I A\n                        RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS\n\nPetition(s) for Special Leave to Appeal (C)     No(s).   13735/2019(Arising out of impugned final judgment and order dated 26-03-2019\nin MATA No. 35/2018 passed by the Gauhati High Court At Agarthala)\n\nGOPESH DEKA                                           Petitioner(s)\n\n                                  VERSUS\n\nPHUL KUMARI DEKA                                      Respondent(s)\n\n([FOR DISPOSAL] )\n\nDate : 19-07-2022 This petition was called on for hearing today.\n\nCORAM :HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE SANJAY KISHAN KAUL\n          HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE M.M. SUNDRESH\n\nFor Petitioner(s)   Mr.   Aftab Ali Khan, Adv.Ms.   Arna Das, Adv.Mr.   Ali Safeer Farooqi, Adv.Mr.   Tabish Zia, Adv.Mr.   Kaseem Bhuyan, Adv.Mr.   Nar Hari Singh, AOR\n\nFor Respondent(s)   Mr.   Pranab Prakash, Adv.Mr.   Abhishek Sarkar, Adv.Mr.   Ditul Das, Adv.M/S   Bannidinni And Co., AOR\n\n          UPON hearing the counsel the Court made the following\n                             O R D E R\n          Leave granted.The appeal is allowed in terms of the signed order.\n\n          Pending application, if any, stands disposed of.(ASHA SUNDRIYAL)                                 (POONAM VAID)\nASTT. REGISTRAR-cum-PS                         COURT MASTER (NSH)[Signed order is placed on the file]