A divorced couple, who separated swearing not to see each other’s face ever, appeared before court pleading they want to live together, yet again.
They told the division bench of the Punjab and Haryana High Court in Chandigarh that they regretted their decision to divorce and wanted to restart afresh in life.
A legal hurdle stood in the way of the divorced couple to unite yet again. As per the Code of Civil Procedure (CPC), an appeal seeking to set aside a decree passed by the court based on mutual consent is not maintainable. But the Court finally found a way out to unite the two.
The couple had been married for over four years but decided to end their ‘incompatible’ relationship last year after undergoing prolonged bouts of temperamental inadequacies. In May 2018, the couple based in Haryana’s Jhajjar applied for divorce in the local court, which was granted after both the parties consented to end the nuptial knot.
Change of heart
The couple has a minor daughter. As per the settlement, the husband was to give Rs 4 lakh as part of settlement to his wife. The father would get the custody of the minor daughter. Down the line, the couple realised that parting ways was a big mistake. A change of heart appeared imminent in the relationship. The two minced no words to tell the court that they had "committed a serious mistake of divorcing on account of unfounded emotional and temperamental differences."
The division bench of Justice Rakesh Kumar Jain and Justice Anupinder Singh Grewal were faced with a legal question arising out of the limitations in the Code of Civil Procedure. Dhiraj Chawla, the counsel for the petitioner, cited a 1986 verdict of the High Court where it was decided that an appeal against a consent decree (passed under section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act) was appealable.