Eighteen pending cases across Odisha, Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh ended with one order, as the Supreme Court granted Divorce By Mutual Consent under Article 142 on the strength of a full settlement.
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New Delhi: By a single order under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court has dissolved the marriage of an estranged couple by mutual consent, recorded Rs 35 lakh as permanent alimony in full settlement, and quashed all eighteen civil and criminal cases pending between the parties in Odisha, Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttar Pradesh [S v. State of Odisha and Others].
The order was passed on September 28, 2026, by a Bench of Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice R. Mahadevan, in transfer petitions filed by the wife. Shriya Maini and Sharian Mukherji appeared for the wife, and Mandeep Kalra for the respondents.
What the order provides
Five directions came with the order. The marriage stands dissolved by mutual consent with immediate effect. The husband’s payment of Rs 35 lakh is recorded as permanent alimony in full and final settlement. All eighteen enumerated civil and criminal cases between the parties stand quashed. Neither side may start fresh proceedings against the other. The Registry is to draw up the divorce decree.
How the dispute got here
The couple married on December 4, 2016, and have lived apart since 2022. By the time the matter reached the Supreme Court, eighteen civil and criminal proceedings involving them and their families were pending in different forums. The wife had moved the Court to transfer one criminal and one civil case from Cuttack to Mumbai (Transfer Petition (Criminal) No. 493 of 2025 and Transfer Petition (Civil) No. 2564 of 2025).
Midway through the hearing, the husband applied under Article 142 for divorce on the ground of irretrievable breakdown, along with quashing of every pending case. Mediation efforts and discussion in Court followed, and the parties agreed to part by mutual consent. The husband raised his offer of permanent alimony from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 35 lakh, of which Rs 2 lakh was paid at once and Rs 33 lakh by demand drafts. The wife accepted.
Settlement over litigation
Relying on the Constitution Bench decision in Shilpa Sailesh v. Varun Sreenivasan (2023) and the later ruling in Rinku Baheti v. Sandesh Sharda (2025), the Bench noted that Article 142 lets the Court do complete justice, which includes dissolving a marriage once the parties have settled their differences. It recorded that the consent was genuine and free of coercion, and that there was no possibility of reconciliation. On the choice between settling and fighting on, the Court observed:
“Settlement, and not litigation, is the preferable mode of dispute resolution.”
What the ruling shows
One order, and a web of matrimonial litigation is gone. When parties settle, the Supreme Court can dissolve the marriage itself and wipe out the civil and criminal cases that grew around it, instead of sending each one back to be closed forum by forum.
For couples caught in long, multi-city disputes, the order also signals the route the Bench prefers: a settlement recorded before the Court, with the alimony actually paid.
Case Title: S v. State of Odisha and Others [Transfer Petition (Criminal) No. 493 of 2025 and Transfer Petition (Civil) No. 2564 of 2025]
Bench: Justice B.V. Nagarathna and Justice R. Mahadevan, Supreme Court of India
Date of Judgment: September 28, 2026
Appearances: Shriya Maini and Sharian Mukherji (Petitioner); Mandeep Kalra (Respondents)