Supreme Court Rejects 89-Year-Old Man’s Divorce Plea Against 82-Year-Old Wife
The Supreme Court of India has dismissed a petition filed by an 89-year-old man seeking a divorce from his 82-year-old wife, saying that irretrievable breakdown of marriage is not always enough to grant a divorce.
A bench of Justices Aniruddha Bose and Bela M Trivedi ruled that even though divorce cases are increasing, marriage is still considered sacred in Indian society. The Court stressed that this principle should not be overlooked when deciding such sensitive matters.
The man had served in the Indian Army and was posted in Madras (now Chennai) in 1984. He claimed that his wife refused to join him and instead stayed with his parents and later with their son. He argued that this showed her unwillingness to live with him without any valid reason, and he later filed for divorce.
A district court had initially granted the divorce under the Hindu Marriage Act, but the Punjab and Haryana High Court overturned that decision. The man then approached the Supreme Court, saying the High Court made a mistake by reversing the earlier ruling and claimed that his wife had been cruel by deserting him.
However, the Supreme Court found that the wife was willing to take care of her husband in his old age and wanted to maintain their marital bond. She also expressed that she didn’t want to face the social stigma of being called a divorcee, especially at this stage of life.
The Court observed:
“In modern times, divorce may not always carry a stigma, but we must consider the wife’s feelings. Granting divorce now would do injustice to her, not justice.”
The wife’s lawyer argued that just being separated for a long time does not mean the marriage is beyond repair. She had continued to treat the marriage as sacred and had raised three children, even when her husband was not cooperative.
The Supreme Court agreed with this and rejected the husband’s divorce plea, dismissing the appeal.
Case Title: Nirmal Singh Panesar vs Paramjit Kaur Panesar
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