Supreme court grants divorce to a couple after women fails to appear for hearing

The Supreme Court has granted divorce to a couple after the wife ignored its notice to appear in the Court. This decision by the court concluded three-year legal battle. The husband has been fighting since the wife withdrew her consent for the divorce.

The apex court, in this case, granted divorce without hearing the wife as she refused to respond to the notice that was issued to her on the husband's plea to the court. She was absent from numerous court dates in the past as well. The court said that it was clear from her actions that she had no inclination to keep the marital relationship alive.

The two-judge bench comprised of Justices R K Agrawal and Abhay Manohar Sapre invoked Article 142 of the Constitution. This Article says that in the exercise of its jurisdiction, the top court may pass any decree or order so as to do complete justice in any matter pending before it.

The couple had filed their joint petition in 2013. When the wife withdrew her consent, the family court had dismissed the case as the wife did not appear for any hearings. Thereafter, the man approached the High Court of Judicature at Hyderabad. The divorce was refused again after the wife's lawyer contended that she had not given her consent. The apex court granted the divorce stating that there was no doubt that the marriage had broken down irretrievably and that both the parties obviously wanted to end the relationship.

Article 142 has been invoked before in some landmark cases such as the Bhopal Gas Tragedy and the Babri Masjid demolition case. Recently, the top court invoked this article to appoint the new Lokayukta of Uttar Pradesh after the state government failed to do so despite being directed to by the Supreme Court.