Supreme Court of India stayed the Delhi High Court order directing a retrial in a matrimonial dispute. The case involved a family court granting divorce under a non-existent statutory provision, prompting the Supreme Court to intervene halt proceedings.
The Supreme Court stayed the Delhi High Court’s order directing a retrial in a matrimonial case, in which a family court had granted a divorce by citing a provision that does not exist.
A Bench led by Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued notice in a petition challenging the High Court’s decision to overturn the divorce decree and send the case back for a fresh hearing.
The dispute originates from a divorce decree issued by a family court, which was subsequently contested before the Delhi High Court.
While setting aside that decree, the High Court concluded that the family court judge had mixed up sections from different matrimonial statutes and had depended on a nonexistent provision under the Special Marriage Act when adjudicating a petition filed under the Hindu Marriage Act.
The High Court therefore remanded the case to the family court for a de novo trial.
This was stayed by the top court today.
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Notably, the family court judge who passed the original decree has separately approached the Supreme Court challenging the strictures passed against him by the Delhi High Court in relation to the same judgment.
In that earlier proceeding, the Supreme Court had on February 11 issued notice on the judge’s plea seeking removal of adverse remarks made against him.
However, the Court had declined to stay the strictures passed by the High Court at that stage.