SC grants divorce, restrains couple from sharing pictures on social media

Representational picture

The Supreme Court has dissolved the marriage of a couple and restrained the man and the woman from putting photographs of each other in any mode at any place, including Internet and social media. While granting divorce, a bench headed by Chief Justice Dipak Misra directed the man, an engineering and managment graduate from Maharashtra, to pay Rs 37 lakh to the woman towards permanent alimony within two months.

The bench, also comprising Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud, passed the order after both the parties said they would like to put the controversy to rest and their marriage should be annulled. "Neither the husband nor the wife shall put the photographs of each other in any mode at any place which would also include social media or online," the bench said in its order.

The woman, who was represented through advocate Dushyant Parashar, told the court that the man should be asked to pay a substantial sum of alimony towards her maintenance. The apex court also quashed the criminal proceedings arising out of the lodging of two FIRs in the case. It said that if any case relating to matrimonial dispute or any kind of property dispute, claim or dispute relating to any kind of criminal liability was pending between them, the same shall stand quashed.

"The divorce petition preferred by the parties is deemed to have been disposed of and there shall be no future claims by the wife against the husband and vice versa," the top court said. It expunged from records all the allegations levelled in the petitions filed by the man and the woman against each other. "The expunging of remarks would mean no one shall be entitled to get the certified copy of the said pleadings," the bench said.

Catch up on all the latest Mumbai, National and International news here

Download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go