New Delhi, Jan 20 (PTI) Warring couples cannot be allowed to settle their scores by treating courts as their battlefield and choke the system, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday and said they should explore mediation for early resolution as allegations and counter-allegations in court aggravate the dispute.
A bench of Justices Rajesh Bindal and Manmohan made the observations while dissolving a marriage between the couple who stayed together only for 65 days and have been separated for over a decade.
Noting that there is an irretrievable breakdown of marriage, the top court exercised its power under Article 142 of the Constitution to dissolve the marriage.
“Warring couples cannot be allowed to settle their scores by treating courts as their battlefield and choke the system. If there is no compatibility, there are modes available for early resolution of disputes.
“Process of mediation is the mode which can be explored at the stage of pre-litigation and even after litigation starts. When the parties start litigating against each other, especially on the criminal side, the chances of reunion are remote but should not be ruled out,” the bench said.
The apex court said whenever the parties in a matrimonial dispute have differences, the preparation starts as to how to teach a lesson to the other side.
“Evidence is collected and, in some cases, even created, which is more often in the era of artificial intelligence. False allegations are rampant. As any matrimonial dispute has an immediate effect on the fabric of society, it is the duty of all concerned to make an earnest effort to resolve the same at the earliest, before the parties take a strong and rigid stand.
“There are mediation centres in all districts where pre-litigation mediation is also possible. In fact, it is being explored in a number of cases and the success rate is also encouraging. In many cases, the parties, after resolution of their disputes, have also started living together,” the bench said.
Acknowledging that the problem is more after the birth of a child or children, the top court said many times the child becomes a bone of contention between the warring parties.
“First and foremost, earnest effort should be made by the parties and to be guided by the advocates, whensoever consulted in the process, is to convince them for a pre-litigation mediation. Rather, in some cases, their counselling may be required.
“Even if a case is filed in a court on a trivial issue such as maintenance under Section 144 of BNSS, 2023 or Section 12 of the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, the first effort required to be made by the court is to explore mediation instead of calling upon the parties for filing replies as allegations and counter allegations sometimes aggravate the dispute,” the bench said.
The court said even when a complaint is sought to be registered with the police of a simple matrimonial dispute, the first and foremost effort has to be for a reconciliation, that too, if possible, through the mediation centres in the courts, instead of calling the parties to the police stations.
The top court said that in changing times, matrimonial litigation has increased manifold, and it is the duty of all concerned, including the family members of the parties, to make their earnest effort to resolve the disputes before any civil or criminal proceedings are launched. PTI PKS RT
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