NEW DELHI: In a classic case of how court proceedings are misused in matrimonial disputes– a woman agreed for a divorce and signed a financial settlement agreement for separation but she not only reneged from the promise after getting a substantial part of the money from her husband, but she also filed a criminal case against him and his family members. The Supreme Court on Monday invoked its jurisdiction under Article 142 to dissolve the marriage and quashed the domestic violence case. Though the wife submitted that she withdrew her consent as the husband did not return her jewellery worth Rs 120 crore and gold biscuits worth Rs 50 crore which was not mentioned in the agreement in order to “avoid alerting the income tax department”, a bench of Justices Rajesh Bindal and Vijay Bishnoi refused to give credence to her allegation after noting that the issue was never mentioned anywhere. “It is trite law that once the parties have entered into a settlement agreement which was duly authenticated by the mediator, in case of any resilement from such terms as agreed upon in the settlement, the resiling party must be encumbered with heavy costs. Any deviation from the terms of the settlement arrived in mediation and later confirmed by the Court should be dealt with strictly as such deviation harbors an attack to the foundational basis of the entire process of mediation,” the bench said. Referring to the wife’s claim about Rs 170 crore gold and that she excluded these terms from the settlement agreement upon being asked by the husband to evade any liability towards wealth tax, the court termed her arguments as “highly egregious”. “We are appalled at the sheer audacity of such a submission being advanced before a court of law and deplore the evident disregard exhibited towards the legal system,” it said.
