Allahabad High Court
Abhishek Kumar Shukla vs Smt. Sanjoli Pathak on 5 February, 2024
HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT ALLAHABAD, LUCKNOW BENCH
?Neutral Citation No. - 2024:AHC-LKO:10464-DB
Court No. - 1
Case :- FIRST APPEAL No. - 5 of 2024
Appellant :- Abhishek Kumar Shukla
Respondent :- Smt. Sanjoli Pathak
Counsel for Appellant :- O.P. Tiwari,Ashish Shukla
Counsel for Respondent :- Bhuvan Dwivedi
Hon'ble Attau Rahman Masoodi,J.
Hon'ble Brij Raj Singh,J.
1. Supplementary affidavit filed by learned counsel for the petitioner is taken on record.
2. Heard Shri O.P. Tiwari, learned counsel for the appellant and Shri Bhuvan Dwivedi, learned counsel for the respondents.
3. The appeal under Section 19 (1) of the Family Courts Act, 1984 has been filed against the order dated 01.12.2023 passed by learned 1st Additional Principal Judge, (Family Court), District Unnao whereby the application No.9 (ga) in case No.1413 of 2023, instituted under Section 13-B of Hindu Marriage Act filed by the parties for waiving off the cooling off period of six months was rejected by the Family Court keeping in view the statutory mandate.
4. It appears that the parties were entangled in various litigations and once such proceeding under Section 482 Cr.P.C., having been instituted before this Court led the matter being referred to the Mediation and Conciliation Centre of this Court for an amicable settlement between the parties.
5. The parties having subscribed to the mediation proceedings have arrived at a settlement on 09.11.2023 and a copy of the settlement/agreement drawn in presence of the respective counsels representing the parties as well as the mediators was finalised and a copy of the same on being forwarded to the court in the proceedings under Section 482 Cr.P.C. was accepted by order dated 16.01.2024 passed in the application under Section 482 Cr.P.C.No.5031 of 2023 (Abhishek Kumar Shukla and others vs. State of U.P. and another). Once the settlement agreement has become final under the seal of this Court and has been made a part of the order passed in the proceedings under Section 482 Cr.P.C., there does not appear to be any valid reason for not allowing the parties to settle all other disputes in accordance with the said agreement.
6. Learned counsel for the appellant has also drawn our attention to a recent judgment rendered in First Appeal No.170 of 2023 (Eti Tyagi vs, Prince Tyagi) decided on 29.08.2023 and it is argued that the case at hand is squarely covered under the said judgment. It is also an admitted position of facts that both the parties are employed and there is no child born out of the wedlock. Both the parties have decided to part-ways and lead their lives independently. The marriage with the payment of permanent alimony is agreed to have been dissolved.
7. In view of these circumstances, there is no reason as to why the proceedings under section 13-B may not be treated to be an exceptional one, where the cooling off period may be exempted in the interest of justice. The parties do not have any objection if the order passed by the Family Court, impugned herein in this appeal, is set aside and the parties are relegated to Family Court for an early disposal of the proceedings under section 13-B of the Hindu Marriage Act in the light of settlement.
8. We, accordingly, set aside the impugned order dated 01.12.2023 as contained in Annexure 1 and remit the matter back to the Family Court for deciding the same expeditiously and preferably, within a period of two weeks from the date of production of certified copy of this order.
9. The appeal is accordingly, disposed of.
Order Date :- 5.2.2024
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