In Brief
The Supreme Court dissolved the marriage of a wife and husband who had been living separately for over a decade despite a Family Court's earlier decree on desertion grounds. The wife appealed the High Court's affirmation of the decree. Finding the matrimonial bond irretrievably broken with no prospect of reconciliation, the Court exercised its extraordinary power under Article 142 of the Constitution to declare dissolution of the marriage. The Court ordered the husband to pay Rs. 10 lakhs in maintenance to the wife and daughter in two instalments, and directed that all pending matrimonial proceedings be disposed of to allow both parties to live peacefully.
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