FAO No. M-18 of 2010 -1- In the High Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh FAO No. M-18 of 2010 (O&M) Date of decision : 16.3.2011 Parminder Kaur ..... Appellant vs Navtej Singh Ubbi ..... Respondent Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rajesh Bindal Present: Mr. Robin Dutt, Advocate, for the appellant. Mr. K. S. Dhillon, Advocate, for the respondent. Rajesh Bindal J. Challenge in the present appeal by the wife is to the judgment and decree dated 11.11.2009 of the learned court below whereby petition filed by the respondent husband under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (for short, “the Act”), for dissolution of marriage, was allowed. Briefly, the facts of the case are that the marriage of the parties was solemnised as per Hindu rites on 19.2.2000 at Village Kotakpura, District Faridkot. One daughter namely Shubhpreet was born out of the wedlock, who is now residing with the father. Due to temperamental differences, the parties could not pull on together. They are living separate since April, 2005. Number of efforts made for reconciliation failed. Petition filed by the husband for dissolution of marriage by way of decree of divorce under Section 13 of the Act was allowed by the learned Additional District Judge, Jalandhar, on 11.11.2009. Thereafter, the wife filed the present appeal before this court. During the pendency of the appeal before this court to explore possibility of reconciliation, the matter was referred to the Mediation and Conciliation Centre in the High Court, where the same was compromised on 18.11.2010. Thereafter, the petition was amended and converted into a petition under Section 13-B of the Act for divorce by mutual consent. FAO No. M-18 of 2010 -2- As per compromise, both the parties were present in person in court today. They have been identified by their respective counsels. In terms of the settlement, they have made statement before this court, which is extracted as under:- “Our marriage was solemnised as per Hindu rites on 19.2.2000 at Village Kotakpura, District Faridkot. Out of our wedlock one daughter Shubhpreet was born on 21.11.2000, who is now residing with the father. Due to the temperamental differences, we could not live together. We are living separate since April, 2005. Number of efforts made for reconciliation failed. Petition filed by the husband before the Additional District Judge, Jalandhar, under Section 13 of the Hindu Marriage Act, for dissolution of marriage was allowed on 11.11.2009. During the pendency of appeal filed by the wife, the matter in dispute was compromised. As per compromise, the parties decided to part ways by getting a decree of divorce by mutual consent. The husband has paid a sum of ` 7,50,000/- to the wife by way of demand draft No. 306303 dated 03.01.2011 drawn on State Bank of India, Chandigarh towards permanent alimony. In addition, the husband will pay to the wife ` 50,000/- within fifteen days from today, which shall be deposited by him in her bank account No. 499602010061605 in Union Bank of India, Sector 35-C, Chandigarh. Daughter Shubhpreet will remain in the custody of the father. It has further been agreed that the wife will have visiting rights for the daughter as have been detailed in the compromise. In addition thereto the wife will have custody of the daughter on the evening of second Saturday in September every year and return back on Sunday evening. As one time measure, the wife has been permitted to take the custody of the child on the evening of March 26, 2011 and to return her back to the father on March 27, 2011. FAO No. M-18 of 2010 -3- FAO No. 4743 of 2008 filed by wife and cross objections No. 57 of 2009 filed by the husband regarding custody of the minor child, namely, Shubhpreet, which is pending in this court shall be disposed of in terms of the settlement arrived at today. The contempt petition filed by the wife for alleged violation of the order regarding interim custody of the child to her shall not be pressed by her when listed for hearing. The complaint filed by the wife under Sections 406 and 498-A IPC against the husband and his family members pending in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridkot shall be treated as withdrawn in terms of the settlement arrived at. A petition for execution of order passed under Section 125 Cr.P.C, which is pending in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridkot shall be treated as withdrawn. The parties will not indulge each other in any litigation in future with regard to matrimonial dispute. We will abide by the terms of settlement arrived at between us on 18.11.2010 before Mediation & Conciliation Centre and as per the aforesaid statement. We have no objection if a decree of divorce by way of mutual consent is passed.” The wife has received a sum of ` 7,50,000/- vide bank demand draft No. 306303 dated 03.01.2011 drawn on State Bank of India, Chandigarh towards permanent alimony. In addition, the husband will pay to the wife ` 50,000/- within fifteen days from today, which shall be deposited by him in her bank account No. 499602010061605 in Union Bank of India, Sector 35-C, Chandigarh. It has further been agreed that daughter Shubhpreet will remain in the custody of the father. The wife will have visiting rights for the daughter as have been detailed in the compromise. In addition, the wife will have custody of the daughter in the evening of second Saturday in September every year and return back on Sunday FAO No. M-18 of 2010 -4- evening. As agreed between the parties, the wife has been permitted to take the custody of the child in the evening on March 26, 2011 and to return her back to the father on March 27, 2011. As per the settlement, both the parties have made statement that they do not want to pursue the cases filed by them against each other and their family members i.e. FAO No. 4743 of 2008 and cross objections No. 57 of 2009 therein, complaint under Sections 406 and 498-A IPC pending in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridkot, and petition for execution of order passed under Section 125 Cr.P.C, pending in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridkot, and the same be dismissed as withdrawn in view of compromise. In view of the above, the appeal is disposed of and a decree of divorce by way of mutual consent is passed, dissolving the marriage of Parminder Kaur daughter of S. Arjan Singh and Navtej Singh Ubbi son of Shri Jaswant Singh. The judgment of learned Court below is modified to the extent mentioned above. Decree sheet be prepared. A copy of this order be placed on the file of FAO No. 4743 of 2008 filed by wife and cross objections No. 57/CII of 2009 filed by the husband regarding custody of the minor child, namely, Shubhpreet, and the same be treated as disposed of in terms of the settlement arrived at today. One copy of this order be placed on the contempt petition filed by the wife for alleged violation of the order regarding interim custody of the child to her and the same be treated dismissed as not pressed by her. Copy of this order be sent to Chief Judicial Magistrate, Faridkot, to dispose of the cases pending at Faridkot, referred to in the aforesaid statement of the parties, as withdrawn. 16.3.2011 (Rajesh Bindal) vs Judge