Pooja Bhuneshwar Prasad Sharma vs Ashish Vinaybhai Mishra

IN THE SUPREME COURT OF INDIA CIVIL ORIGINAL JURISDICTION TRANSFER PETITION (CIVIL) NO.618 OF 2021

POOJA BHUNESHWAR PRASAD SHARMA Petitioner

VERSUS

ASHISH VINAYBHAI MISHRA Respondent

WITH

TRANSFER PETITION (CIVIL) NO. 1268 OF 2021

ORDER

Transfer Petition No. 618 of 2021 has been filed by the

petitioner who is the wife of the respondent seeking transfer of

Matrimonial Petition being H.M.P. No. 11 of 2021 titled as “Ashish

Vinaybhai Mishra Vs. Pooja Bhuneshwar Prasad Sharma” pending on the

file of the learned Principal Judge, Family Court, Bharuch,

District Bharuch, Gujarat to the Court of competent jurisdiction in

District Dhamtari, Chhattisgarh.

Transfer Petition No. 1268 of 2021 has been filed by the

husband seeking transfer of MJC No. 54 of 2021, titled as “Pooja

Sharma Versus Ashish Vinay Mishra” pending on the file of the

learned Principal Judge, Family Court, Dhamtari, District-Dhamtari,

Chhattisgarh to the Court of Principal Judge, Family Court,

Bharuch, District-Bharuch, Gujarat.

Signature Not Verified

Since, these transfer petitions have been filed by the parties Digitally signed by Dr.

inter se, they have been connected together and have been heard and Mukesh Nasa Date: 2022.05.12 19:28:59 IST Reason:

disposed of by this common order.

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Learned counsel for the respective parties submitted that

during the pendency of these petitions, the matter was referred to

the Supreme Court Mediation Centre and parties have arrived at a

mediated settlement which is submitted by the Supreme Court

Mediation Centre. They further submitted that as per the terms of

settlement dated 13.12.2021, the parties have decided to seek

dissolution of their marriage by a decree of divorce by mutual

consent under Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act,

1955(hereinafter referred to as ‘the Act’ for the sake of brevity).

They further submitted that the parties are present before this

Court and hence, these transfer petitions may be disposed of in

terms of the settlement arrived at between them by excercising

jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution of India.

The parties are present before this Court. They have been

identified by their respective advocates. When querried by this

Court, they submitted that they have indeed arrived at an amicable

settlement. They have decided to dissolve their marriage by a

decree of divorce by mutual consent on certain terms and

conditions.

The petitioner-wife stated that one of the terms of the

settlement is payment of a sum of Rs. 28 lakhs (Rupees Twenty eight

lakhs) by the respondent-husband to her, which she has received in

two installments . She has no objection for this Court to dissolve

the marriage by a decree of divorce by mutual consent. Petitioner-

wife has also stated that she has received a necklace set from the

husband and that she has no further claim whatsoever against her

respondent-husband.

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The petitioner in the connected petition who is the husband

also submitted that he has no objection for these cases to be

disposed of by granting divorce by mutual consent between the

parties.

It is also stated at the Bar that certain cases which have

been filed by the parties against each other shall also be

withdrawn within fifteen days from the date of disposal of these

petitions. The details of the said cases are mentioned in paragraph

10 of the said Settlement Agreement. In the circumstances,

settlement agreement dated 13.12.2021 arrived at between the

parties is taken on record.

Learned counsel for the respective parties submitted that the

marriage between the parties may be dissolved by granting divorce

by mutual consent under Section 13-B of the Act read with Article

142 of the Constitution.

In the circumstances, the settlement agreement which is

appended to the Transfer Petition No. 618 of 2021 is taken on

record and perused.

It is noted that though the settlement agreement has been

arrived at between the parties for seeking dissolution of their

marriage by a decree of divorce by mutual consent is dated 13th

December, 2021, nevertheless, the parties have been at loggerheads

and the petitions have been filed by them, inter se, seeking inter-

alia, restitution of conjugal rights, maintenance and also a

criminal proceeding is pending. It is also noted that the parties

are living separately and there is no possibility of the parties 4

reconciling their disputes and co-habiting together.

Learned counsel for the respective parties also submitted that

the stipulation of six months’ period indicated in Sub-section (2)

of Section 13-B of the Act may also be dispensed with and in this

regard, they placed reliance on a judgment of this Court in the

Case of “Amardeep Singh Versus Harveen Kaur” – [2017 (8) SCC 746].

Having regard to the aforesaid judgment, stipulation of six months

as stated Sub-section 2 of Section 13-B of the Act is dispensed

with.

On perusal of the terms of settlement, I find that they are

lawful and there is no reason as to why the same cannot be

accepted.

In the circumstances, by exercising jurisdiction under Article

142 of the Constitution, the marriage solemnized between the

parties on 24.11.2017 in Bharuch is dissolved by a decree of mutual

consent in terms of Section 13-B of the Act.

It is needless to mention that the said settlement agreement

shall be read as part and parcel of this order.

Registry to draw up a decree in the aforesaid terms.

Consequently, these transfer petitions are rendered

infructuous and are disposed of accordingly.

…………………………………………J (B.V. NAGARATHNA) NEW DELHI;

9th MAY, 2022