Special Leave Petition Civil No 366178
From the Judgment and order dated 9 5 1978 of the Delhi High Court in LPA No 4178
AK Gupta for the Petitioner
N D Garg and TL Garg for the Respondent
507 The order of the Court was delivered by KRISHNA IYER J
Upon hearing counsel the Court passed the following order This matrimonial litigation where a husband the petitioner unsuccessfully tried to get a decree for divorce of his wife the respondents under Section 131 b of the Hindu Marriage Act has landed in this Court as a petition for special leave to appeal
Customary accusations on both sides were made in the pleadings and evidence but the High Court both the single judge and the division bench did not grant dissolution of marriage
When we heard counsel on both sides on a preliminary basis we impressed upon them the benign perspective which the Court must bring to bear upon a matrimonial cause
lt is fundamental that reconciliation of a ruptured marriage is the first essay of the judge aided by counsel in this noble adventure
The sanctity of marriage is in essence the foundation of Civilisation and therefore Court and counsel owe a duty to society to strain to the utmost to repair the snapped relations between the parties
This task
becomes more insistent when an innocent off spring of the wedding struggles in between the disputed parents
In the present case there is a child quite young the marriage itself being young
We have had the advantage of responsive counsel on both sides who shared the spirit of our suggestion worked on the minds of their clients
and healed a wounded situation into a healthy rapprochement
What is equally noteworthy is the circumstance that the parties themselves reacted sensitively and constructively
Naturally there was initial resistance mistrust apprehension and therefore a string of conditions in arriving at a consensus between the parties
At the end of this conciliatory journey it was possible to reach a happy destination resulting in the resolution of the conflict between the parties and eventual restoration of the conjugal home
Today counsel on both sides put in statements which we are recording in the proceedings
In substance both husband and wife are basically agreed upon living together with the ardour and lover of partners in life
The minor frictions which got distorted into disruption was really the wear and tear of wedded fabric
We are able to discern in the two statements a sincere wish to come together and enjoy the conjugal bliss which is their right
We further notice a concern on both sides for the little lovely child whose future is largely moulded by the sweetness and survival of the wedlock
At the end of brief submissions on both sides the respondent wife agreed to go to her matrimonial home and live with her 508 husband the petitioner right away
On our gentle persuasion they moved from the Court to live together in the husband s home the husband assuring the Court that he will live with and love his wife and the wife in turn agreeing to live in the family of the husband as a good daughter in law would do in a Hindu family
We are glad that the story has ended happily
We direct the husband and wife petitioner and respondent to live together in terms of their statements and hopefully never to separate until death do them part
As a preliminary experiment we have directed that the Court will wait for three months to know whether the marriage is back on its wheels to run smoothly
We have impressed on the spouses that an ideal marriage is one where each sucked into each on the new stream rolls whatever rocks obstruct
The special leave petition will stand adjourned to 25th January 1980 and counsel on both sides will report on Republic Day eve about the fortunes of the wedlock which by joint endeavour is apparently restored
Judicial monitoring is a salutary prophylactic


Summary:
The husband petitioner sought a decree for divorce of his wife respondent under Sec
131b of the Hindu Marriage Act
The single Judge and the Division Bench of the High Court did not grant dissolution of the marriage
In the Special Leave Petition to this Court  HELD 1
The benign perspective which the Court must bring to bear upon a matrimonial cause is the resolution of the conflict between the parties and eventual restoration of the conjugal home
The first essay of the Judge aided by counsel is that of reconciliation of the ruptured marriage
507C 2
The sanctity of marriage is the foundation of civilisation and therefore Court and counsel owe a duty to society to strain to the utmost to repair the snapped relations between the parties
The task becomes more insistent when an innocent off spring struggles in between the disputed parents
Judicial monitoring is a salutary prophylactic
507D 508D In the instant case the minor frictions which got distorted into disruption being really the wear and tear of wedded fabric and there being a child whose future is to be largely moulded by the sweetness and survival of the wedlock the Court impressed upon counsel and the parties for resolution of the conflict and restoration of the conjugal home
They responded put in their statements and the Court directed the husband and wife petitioner and respondent to live together in terms of their statements and hopefully never to separate until death do them part
The Court further granted three months time to now whether the marriage is back on its wheels to run smoothly
507G 508C