FAO No. M-6 of 2010 -1- In the High Court of Punjab & Haryana at Chandigarh FAO No. M-6 of 2010 (O&M) Date of decision : 15.7.2010 Arvind Pandey ..... Appellant vs Smt. Sangeeta ..... Respondent Coram: Hon'ble Mr. Justice Rajesh Bindal Present: Mr. Karan Singh, Advocate, for the appellant. Mr. Ram Bilas Gupta, Advocate, for the respondent. Rajesh Bindal J. Challenge in the present appeal is to the judgment of the learned court below whereby petition filed by the parties under Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (for short, “the Act”), for dissolution of marriage was dismissed as infructuous on account of withdrawal of consent by the respondent. Briefly, the facts of the case are that the marriage of the parties was solemnised as per Hindu rites on 4.12.1996 at Faridabad. No child was born out of the wedlock. Due to temperamental differences, the parties could not pull on together. They are living separate since 30.10.1998. Petition filed by the parties in the year 2005 for dissolution of marriage by mutual consent was dismissed as infructuous by the learned District Judge (Family Court), Faridabad, on 12.10.2009 as the respondent withdrew her consent. Thereafter, the appellant husband filed appeal before this court. On 26.4.2010, while appearing before this court, both the parties agreed to resolve the matter by an amicable settlement and agreed to get a decree of divorce by way of mutual consent. Order dated 26.4.2010 is extracted below:- “Parties are present in Court as identified by respective counsel. As per order dated 08.01.2010 a draft for an amount of Rs. 10,000/- drawn on ICICI Bank bearing No. 000139 000229000 00104216 dated 22.04.2010 has been handed over to the respondent. As agreed between the parties the petitioner shall pay a sum of Rs. 2 lacs more to the respondent. On the receipt of that payment the respondent FAO No. M-6 of 2010 -2- will grant divorce to the petitioner. She will also withdraw criminal case which she has filed against the petitioner for bigamy. She shall also withdraw her claim for past maintenance which is pending in this Court and the execution whereof is pending in Faridabad. This petition is adjourned to 15.07.2010 on which date the petitioner will bring a demand draft in favour of the respondent for Rs. 2 lacs on receipt of which respondent shall, as mentioned above, grant the divorce and withdraw all the cases. It is further clarified that this payment would be in full and final settlement of all the claims of the respondent against the petitioner for maintenance / Istri Dhan etc. The second statement as envisaged by section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act would be recorded on that date.” Today both the parties are present in person. They have been identified by their respective counsels. As agreed between the parties on the previous date of hearing, the husband appellant has handed over two bank drafts drawn on Bank of India bearing no. 707008 for Rs. 1,75,000/- and draft no. 707009 for Rs. 25,000/-, dated 28.6.2010 in favour of Sangeeta, as past, present and future maintenance to the respondent wife. Their joint statement, which has been recorded separately today, is extracted as under:- “Our marriage was solemnised as per Hindu Rites on 4.12.1996 at Faridabad. No child was born out of our wedlock. We are living separate since 30.10.1998. A petition for divorce with mutual consent under Section 13- B of the Hindu Marriage Act filed by the parties was dismissed by the learned District Judge, Faridabad on 12.10.2009 and appeal bearing FAO No. M-6 of 2010 against that judgment and decree is pending in this court. During the pendency of the appeal efforts were made to reconcile the matter but without any result. During the pendency of the appeal, the matter was compromised. As per compromise both the parties have decided to get a decree of divorce by way of mutual consent. As per agreement, the wife has received agreed amount of Rs. 2 lacs vide bank draft no. 707008 of Rs. 1,75,000/- and draft no. 707009 of Rs. 25,000/- both dated 28.6.2010 in favour FAO No. M-6 of 2010 -3- of Sangeeta drawn on Bank of India as past, present and future maintenance. She will not claim any amount as maintenance from the husband Arvind Pandey. She has also agreed that she will withdraw all the cases filed against her husband and his family members titled as “Sangeeta vs Arvind Pandey under Section 494 IPC pending in the court of Shri Satish Kumar, JMIC, Faridabad, pending for 27.8.2010 and Execution Petition for maintenance pending in Family Court of Shri S. P. Singh, District Judge, Faridabad, titled as “Sangeeta vs Arvind Pandey”. In case the aforesaid cases are not withdrawn by the wife on the next date of hearing fixed in those cases, the same shall be treated as withdrawn. We have no objection if a decree of divorce by way of mutual consent is passed.” The parties have settled their disputes amicably and got their statement recorded to this effect, which was not found to be under any pressure or coercion. The husband has paid a sum of Rs. 2 lacs to the wife as per the aforesaid settlement. Considering the aforesaid facts and finding the statement to be bonafide, a decree of divorce by way of mutual consent is passed, dissolving the marriage of Arvind Pandey son of Panch Dev Pandey and Smt. Sangeeta daughter of Shri Satya Parkash Mishra. The judgment of learned counsel below is set aside. The appeal stands disposed of accordingly. Decree sheet be prepared. 15.7.2010 ( Rajesh Bindal) vs Judge