The court reinforced the principle of mutual consent in divorce proceedings, using its powers under Article 142 to facilitate amicable settlements.

ORDER

1. Heard learned counsel for the parties.

2. The present transfer petition has been filed by the petitioner-wife seeking transfer of the divorce petition initiated at the instance of the respondent- husband bearing Case No.700 of 2023, titled as “Abhishek Sisodia Vs. Kirti Singh”, pending before the Principal Judge, Family Court, Durg, Chhatisgarh to the Principal Judge, Family Court, Satna, Madhya Pradesh, where she is residing.

3. During the pendency of the present petition, with the consent of the parties, the matter was referred to the Supreme Court Mediation Centre vide order dated 20.02.2025 for exploring the possibility of an amicable settlement.

4. The parties have entered into a settlement which Signature Not Verified Digitally signed byhas been reduced to writing and has been brought on geeta ahuja Date: 2025.08.21

17:09:47 IST Reason:

record by means of an application under Article 142 of the Constitution of India . The Settlement Agreement is dated 10.07.2025 and is signed by both the parties as well as by their respective counsel.

5. The settlement provides that the parties have decided to live separately and to have a decree of divorce by mutual consent by invoking Article 142 of the Constitution of India .

6. The marriage was solemnized on 25.01.2022 and since 12.02.2022 they are living separately, meaning thereby that there was not much cohabitation and the marriage has failed in the very inception.

7. Under the settlement, the parties have agreed to dissolve their marriage by decree of divorce subject to the respondent-husband paying a sum of Rs.23,00,000/- in full and final settlement of all the dues of the petitioner-wife. It has also been agreed that they shall withdraw all the cases filed by each one of them against each other.

8. Learned counsel for the respondent-husband submits that out of the settlement amount of Rs.23,00,000/-, Rs.2,00,000/- was already paid to the petitioner-wife on the date when the settlement was signed.

9. Today, learned counsel for the respondent-husband has presented the demand drafts for a sum of Rs.20,70,000/- and have been handed over to the learned counsel for the petitioner-wife. She submits that earlier an amount of Rs.15,000/- has been credited to the account of the petitioner-wife and the remaining amount of Rs.15,000/- is in the process of being credited into the account of the petitioner-wife. The details of the said demand drafts in favour of the petitioner-wife are as under:

i. Demand Draft No.015845 dated 09.06.2025 drawn on Bank of Baroda, for a sum of Rs.1,00,000/-

(Rupees One Lakh);

ii. Demand Draft No.015862 dated 14.08.2025 drawn on Bank of Baroda, for a sum of Rs.3,70,000/-

(Rupees Three Lakhs Seventy Thousand);

iii.Demand Draft No.015843 dated 09.06.2025 drawn on Bank of Baroda, for a sum of Rs.2,00,000/-

(Rupees Two Lakhs);

iv. Demand Draft No.808398 dated 14.08.2025 drawn on State Bank of India, for a sum of Rs.7,00,000/-

(Rupees Seven Lakhs); and v. Demand Draft No.585102 dated 14.08.2025 drawn on Union Bank, for a sum of Rs.7,00,000/-(Rupees Seven Lakhs).

10. Considering the fact that the marriage has been irretrievably broken down and the parties have agreed to live separately, we consider it proper to exercise our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India and direct for drawing a decree of divorce by mutual consent in the Divorce Case- Case No.700 of 2023, titled as “Abhishek Sisodia Vs. Kirti Singh”, pending before the Principal Judge, Family Court, Durg, Chhatisgarh which shall stand closed accordingly.

11. Similarly, all other cases referred to above shall also stand closed.

12. The application being I.A. No.201875 of 2025 is allowed in the above terms and the transfer petition stands disposed of accordingly.

13. The Registry shall inform the respective Courts a