In Brief
A husband and wife executed a Memorandum of Understanding in December 2014 to end their marriage by mutual consent and jointly filed a divorce petition under Section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act. The wife failed to appear before the Family Court and after the six-month cooling period, the petition was dismissed. When appealed, the wife retracted her consent through counsel. The High Court dismissed the appeal. The Supreme Court allowed the appeal and decreed the divorce, invoking its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution. The Court held that the wife's non-appearance, failure to object during the cooling period, and continued silence demonstrated she was not interested in preserving the marriage, warranting dissolution despite her subsequent retraction of consent.
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