Can the Court, while dissolving a marriage under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, also terminate all proceedings pending between the parties, including those against their relatives and legal counsels?

Paragraph 56In this background, there is no doubt in the mind of this Court that the marriage is dead for all practical purposes and this is a supremely fit case warranting exercise of jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, not only to annul the marriage between the parties but also to terminate all proceedings initiated and pending inter se, including those against the relatives and legal counsels, in order to do complete justice and provide a quietus to this decade-long dispute which has crossed all limits and has assumed the status of a matrimonial battle of Mahabharata.

Paragraph 62Accordingly, in exercise of our jurisdiction under Article 142 of the Constitution of India, in 37 order to do complete justice, we hereby pass the following directions: - i. The marriage between the parties, i.e., the appellant-wife and the respondent-husband shall stand dissolved. ii. All pending civil, criminal, and miscellaneous proceedings filed by either party against each other, and/or relatives including all FIRs, complaints, and other applications pending before any Court or forum, shall stand quashed/closed. Furthermore, all complaints filed by the respondent-husband before the Bar Council of Maharashtra and Goa, the Bar Council of India, or any criminal Court against any of the advocates representing the appellant-wife, as well as any proceedings against the relatives of the appellant-wife, before all forums and Courts (civil as well as criminal) shall also stand closed. iii. The appellant-wife shall be entitled to absolute custody of both the sons. However, the respondent-husband shall be entitled to visitation rights, which are fixed as below: - 38 a. The respondent-husband shall have interaction and visitation rights with his sons on the second weekend of every month in the city where the children are residing/studying. b. The respondent-husband shall be entitled to have temporary custody of both the sons for half of their summer and winter vacations as and when applicable. iv. The respondent-father shall extend full cooperation for any actions which may be required for the renewal/issuance of the Canadian passport of son Master QQQ. Failure to do so would entitle the appellant-wife to institute appropriate proceedings including those for contempt in this Court. v. The respondent-husband is directed to pay a consolidated sum of Rs. 5 Crores to the appellant-wife towards full and final settlement of all her claims, including permanent alimony, maintenance (past, present, and future), child support, and litigation expenses. This amount shall be paid by the respondent-husband within a period of one year from the date of this 39 judgment, either in a single transaction or in four equal quarterly instalments. It is clarified that the cost of Rs. 5 Lakhs imposed upon the respondent-husband, payable to the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA), while dismissing Writ Petition (Civil) No. 240 of 2025, shall stand included within and adjusted against the aforesaid amount of Rs. 5 Crores. vi. The appellant-wife shall furnish an undertaking before this Court, within two weeks from the date of this judgment stating that, upon receiving the complete amount of Rs. 5 Crores as directed above, she shall, within a period of two weeks thereafter, peacefully vacate and handover the possession of the flat owned by the respondent’s father, which she is presently occupying in Mumbai. vii. The respondent-husband shall also furnish an undertaking before this Court, within a period of four weeks from the date of this judgment that, he will not file any further civil or criminal proceedings in any Court or forum against the appellant-wife, her relatives or her lawyers. Any 40 breach of the above direction shall be viewed seriously and may invite suitable action.