Delhi High Court grants divorce to couple caught in litigation for 24 years

Source: .newindianexpress.com

NEW DELHI: Coming to the rescue of an estranged couple living separately for past 24 years, the Delhi High Court granted them divorce which was caught up in litigation for so many years.

“It is unfortunate that the parties married as far back as in the year 1988 i.e. 31 years back and living separately since the year 1995 i.e. for the last 24 years have had to litigate about something as personal as these disputes for the last 24 years, and with uncertainty as to their marital status,” Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw said, while allowing the divorce of Shekhar Sharma, an Indian Revenue Service officer, and Divya Sharma,

“One of the root causes for such delays is the nature of detailed pleadings and detailed evidence which have become the norm in such disputes and, which in turn, result in longer trials and a long time in writing judgments in such matters,” the judge ruled.

Trouble began for the Sharmas’ after their fights on trivial issues ranging from parent’s interference to the wife hiding about her employment from the husband.

The order came on husband’s appeal challenging the trial court’s order of not granting him divorce.

But, the high court overruled the trial court’s order and granted divorce to Shekhar.

From the matrimonial advertisement, it is clear that the wife was represented to be studying and not in employment, the judge said.

“On the contrary, it is not in dispute that the husband at the time of finalization of marriage had already been selected to the Indian Revenue Service and which was an all India transferable job,” the judge said while dismissing wife’s contention that her husband was moving from one city to another quite frequently and never took transfers keeping in mind her job options.