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Synopsis

The Supreme Court recently dissolved a 25-year-old marriage exercising plenary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution after finding no emotional connect between the couple.

A bench of Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar found that the appellant man, and the respondent-woman lived together for some time after the initial breakup, but have again separated and are not residing with each other.

"During the pendency of the present appeal, several attempts were made at mediation to settle the matter but they were not successful. It is apparent that the marriage between the appellant-man and the respondent-woman has irretrievably broken down. They do not have any emotional connect with each other," the bench said.  

The appellant, and the respondent got married on February 14, 2000.

In 2012, the appellant filed a petition for divorce before the Family Court, Madurai.

The Family Court passed a decree of divorce on June 24, 2015 against which the respondent-woman preferred an appeal, that was allowed by the impugned judgment dated April 01, 2019.

The appellant-husband thereafter preferred a Special Leave Petition before the Top Court.

"The appellant, R. Annamalai, agreed to pay an amount of ₹25,00,000/- (Rupees twenty five lakhs only) to the respondent, Lalitha Subanam. The said amount will be deposited before the Family Court, Madurai, within 8 weeks from today. In case the amount is not deposited within the time specified, the appellant, R. Annamalai, shall pay interest at the rate of 7% per annum, compounded annually, from the date of this order till the date the payment is made", the bench further added.

Case Title: R Annamalai v. Lalitha Subanam