The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed a man to pay the remaining Rs 4 crore of the agreed settlement to his estranged wife, within six weeks, saying that he can divorce his wife but "cannot divorce his children". A bench of Justices D.Y. Chandrachud and M.R. Shah told the husband's counsel that he agreed in the settlement that the day the decree of divorce is granted, he will pay his wife the remaining amount.

"Now this financial constraint argument will not hold good," the bench noted. The couple, who have been staying separately since 2019, have two children and their custody terms have been agreed by both. Husband's counsel, during the hearing, contended before the bench that in the mediation proceedings, a settlement for Rs 5 crore to be paid to her was reached between the parties and he had paid Rs 1 crore then. However, the man sought more time to pay outstanding Rs 4 crore to the wife, and cited the ongoing pandemic, to claim his gems and jewellery business has taken a bad hit.