The Madhya Pradesh High Court ruled that a notarized divorce agreement alone cannot legally dissolve a marriage. Dismissing a pension claim by a deceased government employee’s alleged second husband, the Court held that only a court-issued divorce decree can legally end a marriage.
The Allahabad High Court held that Lok Adalats and District Legal Services Authorities cannot grant divorce decrees, ruling that only family courts possess jurisdiction to dissolve marriages, while Lok Adalats are limited to facilitating settlements and lack authority to exercise judicial powers in matrimonial disputes.
The Delhi High Court ruled that denying a caste certificate to a boy due to the absence of a formal divorce decree from his estranged father was unacceptable. Justice Sanjeev Narula emphasized that children of abandoned mothers should not be penalized, directing authorities to reconsider the boy’s application without paternal documentation.
The Supreme Court criticized the handling of a woman’s long legal battle over multiple divorce decrees in Karnataka, emphasizing the challenges women face in matrimonial disputes. The court upheld the divorce decree but enhanced the alimony and issued orders to protect the woman and her son’s property rights.
