The appellant-wife challenged, before the Supreme Court in a Civil Appeal, the concurrent decree of divorce granted to the respondent-husband by the Family Court, Bokaro and affirmed by the High Court of Jharkhand. The divorce had been granted under Sections 13(1)(ia) and 13(1)(ib) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 on the grounds of cruelty and desertion. The parties were married in 2002 and have been living separately since 2018; two children were born of the marriage.
The Family Court had found, on appreciation of oral and documentary evidence, that the appellant's persistent quarrelling, abusive conduct towards the respondent's parents, and the circumstances noted by the District Welfare Committee (which directed the children to reside with their paternal grandfather) cumulatively established cruelty and desertion. The High Court affirmed those findings, additionally relying on an undertaking furnished by the appellant in 2017 to maintain cordial relations, the testimony of the parties' son supporting the cruelty allegations, and the appellant's own statement that she did not want the children to stay with her.
The Supreme Court disposed of the appeal, declining to interfere with the concurrent findings of fact, holding that no perversity had been demonstrated. The Court noted that a marriage of over two decades with separation since 2018 indicated the matrimonial bond had broken down beyond repair. However, on the question of maintenance, the Court exercised its power to do complete justice and modified the Family Court's direction of a lump-sum payment of Rs.6,00,000/- to a monthly maintenance of Rs.10,000/- payable from the date of the order, ensuring continued financial support to the appellant.